United We Stand, Divided We Fall
by Strider1
Summary: With Red X missing and Raven dead, what is in store of the rest of the Teen Titans? Chapter 39 now up.
1. Captured!

The New Hive.

Crime was at an all time low in the city, and the Teen Titans were the ones to thank for it. Since the team formed, criminal activity had gone down considerably. Of course, there were still the occasional bank robbery or car theft, but the riff-raff had obviously taken the Titan's message to heart. Even Jump City's super villains were being unusually quiet. It had been weeks since they had seen neither hide nor hair of Slade, or anyone else for that matter. That's what worried Robin so much. A dry spell like this could only mean one thing; someone was up to something. And no matter what it was, he was determined to put a stop to it. It was this determination that made him decide to have twice the amount of daily patrols, despite their endless complaining about it. And of course, he decided to take the first patrol of the city, which even he began to regret. It was freezing out, and his costume wasn't exactly the warmest thing in the world to wear. He had been swinging his way around the city for almost three hours by now, so he decided to stop on a rooftop for a short rest before returning back to the tower. To be honest, sometimes he enjoyed being out in the city by himself. Between the constant video game arguments, and encroaching on each other's personal space, it got to be pretty loud around the old home. He removed a pair of binoculars from his utility belt, and scanned the streets below him. Still nothing. What he wouldn't do for just a simple robbery, even stopping a purse snatching would be better than this evening ending up being a total waste. He was so caught up in his searching that he failed to notice the sudden flash of movement behind him.

"I wonder what the rest of the team is doing right now?" Robin wondered aloud.

"I think there are more pressing matter for you to worry about." A mysterious voice answered from behind him. Robin whipped around to face the voice's owner, but found nothing there. Was he hearing things? Was he going crazy? No, all this monotony must be playing trick on his mind. He turned back to the roof's ledge, and was met with a nasty surprise

"It can't.." Before he could finish his sentence, darkness overtook him.

"Who would like to sample my blorthnor stew first?" Starfire asked, holding a giant pot of steaming something in her hands. "Anyone?"

"No thanks Star." Cyborg called, not bothering to turn away from his video game. "I've already eaten."

"How about you, Beast Boy? You have yet to feed this evening." Beast Boy peered over into the pot, and fell backwards from the stench.

"Sorry, but I was gonna eat that left over Tofu." He apologized. Everyday Starfire would make some kind of nasty meal from her home planet, and try to make everyone eat it. Raven holds the record for avoiding Starfire's gagh worms or whatever thing she decided to create that particular day. Cyborg paused his game so he could stand up and stretch. The last time he attempted to eat something she made, it somehow managed to gum up his circuitry.

'Hey, why don't you give it to Robin when he gets back? You know he'll at least try it."

"What a wonderful idea Cyborg!" Starfire beamed. "But, where is Robin? Should he not have returned already?" According to the agreement they all made, there would be four three-hour patrols everyday, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and two at night. Robin had agreed to take the latest one, but he should have returned over an hour ago. It wasn't strange for him to stay out longer if he was in an especially vigilant mood, but he never did so without contacting the team to let them know.

"Yeah, he should have. I'll try contacting him." Cyborg activated his communication device, but all the got in return was static. "There's no way this can be a good thing."

"Something must have happened to him! We must go out and search!" Starfire cried out.

"Whoa hold on Star! Where in the world would we start looking?" As if to answer Beast Boy's question, the security alarms began blaring a full alert. There was an intruder in the tower!

"The signal's coming from Robin's room! Titans go!" Cyborg commanded. The team rushed up to Robin's room, but all they could find was Raven, standing by herself in the center of the room

"What's going on here?" Beast Boy asked, frantically looking around

"I heard Cyborg's call, so I rushed here as fast as I could. This was all I could find." Raven pulled a letter from her cloak, and held it out for the rest of the team to see. It read: Dear Teen Titans. We have Robin. Come and get him if you dare. You'll find him at this address: Ten Alistair Drive. Downtown Jump City. We'll be waiting for you. Sincerely, The Hive. It was a simple letter, printed out in black ink from a computer terminal. The only strange mark was a small X daubed in red ink on the bottom of the sheet of paper.

"We have to go rescue Robin." Cyborg said, crushing the letter in his hand.


	2. Revenge of the Hive

I forgot these last time-Disclaimers, I don't own anything presented here.

The New Hive- Chapter 2

"Dude this is so a trap." Beast Boy whined. The address on the letter led the Team to a massive warehouse in a far off corner of Jump City. According to the files Cyborg downloaded before they left, it used to store illegal good before being shut down by local police. It was a towering structure, falling apart at the seams from years of neglect. All of the windows were either boarded up or smashed.

"We don't have much of a choice, BB. Robin is in there, and we have to rescue him." Cyborg said, running every scan he could think of on the building. "I'm not picking up anything strange."

"It looks like the type of place Raven would live in." Beast Boy joked, trying his hardest to lighten the mood. Raven glared at him from under her hood. She hadn't spoken since they left Titan Tower, and he believed it was because whoever broke into their home managed to escape just as easily with her only a few feet away. Sometimes she pushed herself as hard as Robin did, although Starfire was perhaps the only person who had the slightest notion of it.

"Now is not the time." She growled. "We need some kind of plan."

"I must agree with friend Raven." Starfire added. Cyborg stared at the warehouse for a few more minutes before speaking again.

"I got it. Beast Boy and I will go in through the front. Star and Raven will enter one on each side, got it?" Everyone nodded yes and moved into position. With one motion of his hand, Cyborg started the attack. He blasted the front door off his hinges and charged through, with Beast Boy in tiger form following close behind. At the same time Raven and Starfire flew through windows, fully ready to face whatever was waiting for them. To their surprise, there was nothing waiting for them but dust, darkness and shadows.

"What's going on here?"

"I don't know! I can't see anything!"

"Where's Robin?" The room was pitch black, save for the glowing green light around Starfire's hands. A few moments passed without a sound, until a voice boomed from the rafters.

"What's the matter Titans? In the dark? Well, let me shed a little light on the problem." A bright light turned on, illuminating a small section of the floor. In the center of the light, an unmoving figure sat strapped to a chair.

"It's Robin!" Starfire shouted. "Whoever you are...I must insist that you let him go"

"Very astute, young lady. Looks and brains...quite the package. Its no wonder Robin likes you." Starfire couldn't help but blush at what the voice said.

"Cut the jokes." Cyborg interrupted. "Show yourself so we can beat you down"

"Now now now, Tin Man. There's no need for violence. If you want Robin simply come and get him." The Titans didn't have much of a choice, so all they could do was to oblige the voice and walk towards Robin.

"I didn't say Simon Says Titans. Sorry, but you lose." Before anyone could react, the floor gave way, sending them sliding down into the dark abyss. One by one, they were separated from each other as they slid farther and farther down, until each one reached the bottom with a thump.

"OW!" Beast Boy yelped, rubbing his sore behind. "I didn't but a ticket for the fun house." He got up off the ground and walked forward. Wherever he was, it was certainly better lit than where he and the rest of the Titans saw Robin. As far as he could see, he was alone, but that didn't stop him from calling out for his friends. "Man, how the heck am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Why would you want to leave so soon, Greenie? The show's just started!"

"Who said that"?

"Why the star of the bloody show of course! But you can call me Clash." A young man lowered from the ceiling, standing on a floating platform. Clad in torn up leather and crisscrossing chains, he looked to Beast Boy like a reject from an eighties garage band. A lit cigarette jutted out of one corner of his sneering mouth.

"You know, those things will kill you." Beast Boy chided the spike-haired man

"Very cute, greenie. Too bad they don't say the same thing about loud music." As soon as Clash activated the switch he held in his hand, the entire room filled up with deafening music. Beast Boy's hands instinctively went to cover his ears; the noise was so loud that he could barely concentrate. Transforming into a Rhinoceros, he charged his adversary head on. Clash didn't move, instead he took a huge drag on his cigarette and blew a wall of smoke in front of him. Beast Boy barreled straight into the smoke screen, the blaring music still clouding his mind. He halted for a second when he didn't connect with anything. He stood still and waited for the smoke to clear. It would be his last mistake, as the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was Clash clapping his hands together followed by the feeling that a truck hit him.


	3. Red X Revealed

Return of the Hive

Raven had managed to slow her descent into the darkness, not that it helped her much. She still hit the bottom, and she still couldn't see a single thing. It seemed like her string of bad luck had chosen to extend itself just a little longer. She was still getting over the whole break-in incident. Her room was closest to Robin's and still she couldn't manage to catch the intruder. If only she was just a little bit faster, she would have caught him, and they would have Robin back that much simpler. Thankfully, Beast Boy didn't tease her about not being good enough, like he seemed to do with everything else she did. It was true he was only being friendly in his annoying little way, but sometimes it made her feel even more like an outsider than she already did. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't open up to the Titans as much as she wanted too. Aside from the occasional chat, whenever she tried something would always get in her way. What happened today was the perfect example. As she walked around the barely lit room, she could sense a pair of eyes watching her.

"I know you're there. Show yourself!" She called out. As soon as she spoke, more lights flickered on, revealing a gangly youth leaning against one of the sidewalls.

"Awww, you ruined my big entrance." The youth whined, jumping up and down in a temper tantrum. The way he acted reminded her of a of a certain green shape changer she knew.

"I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me." She growled to him. The youth's face twisted from an overblown frown to a massive grin that seemed to stretch off his face.

"I forgive you. Now let's play!"

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven chanted, levitating a nearby crate and launching it at the youth, hitting him square in the chest. To her surprise, his torso stretched backward with the force of the blow and snapped back forward, launching the box back at her. She managed to dodge out of the way at the last second.

"Azarath...Me" Before she could finish her chant, the youth's arms shot forward and wrapped around her head, covering up her nose and mouth.

"The boss said to keep the scary one quiet." Raven tried to struggle, but the more she moved, the tighter the youth's grip became. God damn bad luck she thought to herself before passing out.

"That's right scary girl, go to sleep for Taffy."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Cyborg screamed, sliding down the ramp face first before landing in a big heap on the floor.

"Ugh. That's one ride I don't want to go on again. Where the hell am I?" He wondered aloud, activating his shoulder mounted searchlight. The room was totally bare, aside from a bunch of small potted trees. What was even stranger was that the metal floor was covered in some kind of mat. A quick scan revealed that it was in fact bamboo.

"Bamboo? This is getting weirder and weirder." Why did this have to happen today, of all days? He had a whole day of playing his favorite video games ahead of him, followed by what else? A quick recharging and then more video games of course. There were only three levels separating him from finally beating Robin's high score. Robin...this was the exact reason that he fought so hard against sending out individual patrols. United we stand, divided we fall; it was practically the Titan's un-official motto. But Robin being Robin, he wouldn't have it any other way but his own, and look where it got him. Cyborg was about to give up searching the room when his light passed over a figure kneeling on the floor. It was a small black haired girl, clad in a fancy kimono. She must have been sitting there the entire time, but she doesn't look like she's moved in hours.

"Maybe you can tell me what's going on here." Cyborg asked, not expecting much of a response. The girl simply looked up at Cy, and then took a sip from a cup of liquid that rested on a tray near her knees.

"Well, you gonna say something, or just sit there?"

"I suggest you make this easy on yourself and give up. I don't want to have to hurt you." The girl's voice was as emotionless and monotone as Raven's on her best day.

"I'm going to chose option B, kicking your butt and then rescuing my friend." Cyborg said.

"As you wish." Cyborg took aim at the girl with this arm cannon and fired a single blast. He was hoping to finish this as fast as he could, without hurting the girl too bad. His wish would come true, though not the way he wanted. Faster than he could see, the girl stood up, whipped out a sword and deflected his energy blast into the nearby wall. Before he could react, the girl rushed forward and unleashed a flurry of slashes at random points all over his body. Just as fast as the attack started, it ended. Cyborg stood stunned for a few seconds, unsure of what exactly just happened. He knew that she attacked him, but he couldn't feel any pain.

"What did you do to me?" The only response the girl gave was a sinister little grin. All of a sudden, his cybernetic parts began to gesticulate out of control, followed by a massive electrical shock that left him paralyzed on the floor. She knew exactly where to hit me he thought, how is that possible? All he could do was lay on the ground and watch as the young girl kneeled back on the floor and calmly sip her drink as if nothing had happened.

Hello...friends? Are you here? Raven! Cyborg! Beast Boy! Robin? Anybody?" Starfire hated to be alone. Her greatest fear was that she would be permanently separated from her beloved friends. From the very second she arrived on earth, she was afraid that she would be forced to live her life by herself, without anyone to "hang out with" as they said on this wonderful planet. As much as her friends argued and fought, she knew in her heart how great their love for each other was, though none of them would ever admit to it. When Robin and the rest of the Titans accepted her onto the team, it was easily the happiest moment of her life. She felt so strongly for Robin, that she could never really find the best way to put it into words, and what that voice said only served to send her imagination into overdrive. Perhaps he felt the same way? A familiar, but very much unwelcome voice interrupted Starfire's thoughts.

"It appears that I've drawn the lovely Starfire, what amazing luck. Ha ha ha" The voice's twisted laughter echoed throughout the chamber.

"Please, return Robin to us, I beg of you. If you do, I promise that we can set all this madness behind us!" Starfire pleaded.

"If only I could do that my dear Starfire, if only I could."

'I feel that you are not what you seem, who are you?" The voice's laughter filled the chamber once again.

"I suppose that would be the polite thing to do." At the far end of the room, a hidden panel slid open with a whoosh of fresh air. A figured, stepped out from behind the door. Starfire could not believe her eyes. The costume, the cape, the mask... there was only one place she had seen it before.

"What's the matter Star? You look like you've seen a ghost." Starfire tried to speak but with all her strength, she could only force four words out from her empty lungs

"Red X! But...how..."


	4. Laboratory Blues

The New Hive: Chapter 4

"Surprised to see me Starfire? I knew you would." Red X chuckled. Starfire's voice finally decided to return to her.

"This is not possible. You cannot be the one called Red X. Robin only created him to fool Slade. He destroyed the suit...unless..." Starfire's shock caused her to babble uncontrollably until the truth hit her.

" Unless I am Robin? Star's mind raced out of control. Why would Robin turn on them? Did Slade have something to do with this? Did Robin lose his mind? She had so many questions and Red X was the only one who could answer.

"Please, you must tell me who you truly are."

"I must apologize, but the only way that's gonna happen is if you take this mask off yourself.

"If I must, then so be it." Starfire powered up and blitzed Red X, letting loose with a volley of starbolts. X dodged the attacks with relative ease, counterattacking with a steady stream of his X Glue. Even if this wasn't Robin he fought just as fiercely. Each X was closer and closer to hitting its orange skinned mark. Only Star's frantic flight pattern threw off his aim. Red X's attacks were relentless, and not even Starfire could dodge them forever. She made a sharp U-turn and rocketed straight for Red X. Her tactic worked, catching X off guard and sending him caroming backwards into the wall. Starfire followed through, driving her outstretched fists hard into his gut. Red X wheezed in pain, but it was only a momentary lapse, he responded quickly with a pair of vicious elbow smashes to the back of Star's head, staggering her. Before Star could resume her assault, X unleashed another round of Cross Rays, pinning Starfire's limbs together. X stood triumphant over the defeated Titan. She struggled valiantly, but she couldn't tear the glue-like substance that bound her.

"What are you going to do with me?" Starfire asked, her face a mask of defiance. Even when she was angry, she was beautiful, Red thought as he watched her.

"I just want you to rest." He pulled a small sphere off of his belt and dropped it near her head. Red smoke hissed out, sending Starfire into a coughing fit before she passed out. Red X knelt down next to her still body, and gently cupped her chin in his hand.

"I'm sorry I had to do this."

One by one the Titans awoke, trying to make sense of not only what happened to them, but also where in the world they might be. They were lined up next to each other, attached to the wall with some kind of high-tech restrainers. Whatever they were, they damped each of their powers. Beast Boy couldn't transform, Raven couldn't activate her power, and neither Starfire nor Cyborg use their respective energy weapons. A lot of time and work must have gone into building this place. It was some kind of laboratory; at least it was set up like one. Massive computer terminals lined the sterile, metal walls. As far as they could see, they were alone; their captors were nowhere to be seen. Time had become unimportant, there was no way to tell what time it was then, or how long they had been unconscious. The hardest thing for the Titans to grasp was how easily they had been defeated. Not a single one of them spoke, let alone mention what happened. Beast Boy was the first to speak up

"So, I guess you guys all got your butts whipped too?"

"How did you guess?" Raven chided him. "Isn't it just a tiny bit obvious?"

"Chill Raven, we're all in the same boat here, there's no need to get angry." Cyborg interjected, hoping to stave off the inevitable argument. "Did any of you recognize who attacked you?" Raven and Beast Boy both nodded an affirmative, but Starfire remained silent. She was too busy replaying what she had seen over and over again in her head.

"Starfire....hey Star!" Cyborg shouted, trying to snap her out of her stupor. "What's wrong?"

"I...I...I knew who attacked me.." She stammered.

"Who was it?" Raven asked. Starfire had to fight the denial in her heart to get the words out of her parched throat

"It was...Red X."

"WHAT!?

"Alas, it is true. The costume was unmistakable."

"That's not possible Star. We all know that Robin was Red X." Beast Boy protested. The memory was still fairly fresh in everyone's mind. Robin had created this sinister alter ego in a failed attempt to trick Slade. In the process he pretty much single-handedly humiliated the Titans in a battle. In fact, it took quite a few weeks before his teammates totally trusted him again after that stunt. But he could have sworn that Robin destroyed the actual outfit. Starfire must have been seeing things.

"Yes, of that I am aware. But I am afraid that it was Robin that I was fighting."

"Robin would never do something like that." Raven countered. She was about to continue, but she realized that they were no longer alone in the laboratory.

"Are you sure about that Raven? History seems to disagree with you." The collective jaws of the remaining Titans simultaneously dropped when they finally saw the person that the sinister voice belonged to. Starfire was right...it was Red X!

"It's good to see you're all finally awake."

'Whoever the hell you are, you better let all of us go!" Cyborg shouted. Red X laughed, wagging his finger right in Cyborg's face.

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's not like you're going anywhere anytime soon. I still haven't even formally introduced myself."

"We know who you are!" Erupted Starfire.

"Well, I would hope you knew who I am. I want to introduce you to my friends." He tapped a small switch on his cufflink, and within a few moments his "friends" appeared. "Allow me to introduce to you, Clash, Taffy, and Samurai. They are the newest graduates from the hive, and I am their...chaperone shall we say." The Hive laughed in unison.

"What do plan on doing with us?" Raven asked.

"I'm glad you asked that my little gothic beauty. At this time tomorrow, we are going to present you to Slade as a token of our appreciation."

"Oh no..." Beast Boy whimpered.

'Oh yes." Red X turned to his partners. "You all did a perfect job. Let's go celebrate, my treat."

"Hurray! A party!" The one called Taffy exclaimed. "Will there be pizza?"

"Better be some good music too" Clash added

"Whatever you want. Good luck Titans. I'll see you soon." Without another word, he activated another stud on his belt, and lead the Hive out of the laboratory.

"We are so doomed." Beast Boy said.


	5. Rescuing Robin

Author's Note: Believe or not, but I came up with this idea before I read the Teen Titan episode guide on the Cartoon Network Homepage. Imagine my shock when I found out the same thing will happen on the actual show.

The New Hive: Chapter Five

"Hey boss, you sure it's a good idea to leave the Titans alone like that?" Clash asked, removing his headphones.

"What's the matter? Don't you have faith in Slade's technology?" Red X held a hand up to halt the rest of the team.

"Its not that. They always seem to escape from situations like this, or so I've heard." According to the Hive database (which all graduates were required to study) the Titans had never been totally defeated, not by former Hive graduates, not even by the mysterious Slade. Very few of the students had ever seen Slade, and those that did spoke about him in hushed awe. Whenever he visited the academy, he would go straight to Brother Blood, and then leave as quickly as he had arrived. In fact, Slade didn't even come to the academy this time, instead opting to send Red X to personally handpick the next series of graduates.

"I am forced to agree, master. Despite their poor showing, the Titans are still worthy opponents." Samurai added.

"I'm well aware of that Samurai. Nonetheless, you defeated them once, and if they were to escape, I'm sure you can do it again." Red X assured them. Working with Red X was strange to say the least. He seemed to know everything about the Titans, how they lived, how they fought; he even knew how to sneak into their home base without getting caught.

"Yeah! Yeah! We can do it!" Taffy shouted, undulating a little dance.  
"I wish Slade and the headmaster were as easy to please as you." Clash joked.

"Anyone got any bright ideas?" Raven asked.

"I'm working on it, I'm working on it." Beast Boy squirmed in his constraints, which were uncomfortable to say the least. It must have been hours since they had been captured and imprisoned. The only things to do were to study the cold surroundings, or try to wriggle out of the constraints, both of which proved to be pointless efforts.

"We must find out the truth about Robin and Red X." Starfire said. It had been a long time since the Titans had seen her so upset about something.

"First things first Star. I think I've found a bug in the system."

"Don't leave us hanging Cy..."

"These constraints are somehow restricting our powers. I've managed to divert some power to one of my arms, without the system noticing. I should be able to bust out."

"That is excellent Cyborg, now let us "bust out" so we can, how do they say it...kick some hive ass!" Starfire shouted. Cyborg focused the last bit of his energy, and pulled his right arm as hard as he could. Accompanied by the sound of straining metal, his arm tore free from its constraints.

'Booyah!" He activated his sonic cannon and had his friends free in matter of seconds. The alarm system was just as quick to respond, filling the laboratory with blaring sirens and flashing red lights.

"Alright Cy, way to go!"

"Save the thanks for later. We've still got lots work to do." Cyborg began furiously typing at one of the computer terminals, flying through file after file.

"Whatever you're doing, you'd better hurry. The Hive'll be back any second" Raven urged him. Easier said than done, Cy thought to himself. He didn't know a thing about how the system worked, let alone how he could find what he was looking for. If he had time, there wasn't a thing he couldn't do with the system, but time was definitely something the Titans had much of at this point. His fingers flew over the console at top speed, like he was a man possessed. After an eternity filled with klaxons and flashing lights he finally found the shred of information he was searching for.

"I got him! Now let's get out of here." He took a few steps back and destroyed the console with a blast from his cannon. One of the sliding doors swished open, and the Titans raced out of the laboratory, Cyborg in the lead.

"Where are we going, Cyborg?"

"I'm not totally sure. We'll find out when we get there." They ran through hallway after hallway, past door after door, the alarms sounding the entire time. Cyborg finally stopped them at a door marked: Testing. Just the like the lab they had been trapped in, this room was lined on all sides by computer terminals. In the center of the room, however, one major thing stood out. It was a glass cylinder, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. A lifeless figure floated in the clear liquid, hooked up to a multitude of wires and tubes. A harness covered in small blinking lights held the figure suspended in the ooze. As soon as Starfire recognized the person in the tube, her face lit up with a gigantic grin.

"It is Robin!"

"But what is he doing in that tube?" Beast Boy tapped on the glass, half expecting Robin to wake up and tap back.

"Why don't we just ask him?" Cyborg moved over to one of the terminals and instructed it to release Robin. The liquid drained out, the tubes and wires disconnected and with a whoosh of air, the glass capsule opened up. Starfire leapt forward to catch Robin, who slowly but surely regained consciousness.

"Robin, are you alright?" Starfire implored. Robin's eyes were glazed over, and his body was covered in scratches and bruises. The hive must have beaten him up pretty bad.

"Where...where am I?" His voice trembled when he spoke, and was almost inaudible. The tube was obviously meant to keep him in some kind of sleep state.

"You were captured by Slade's minions, but now you are among friends." Starfire reassured him, helping him to stand up.

"The last thing I remember was being jumped by someone dressed as Red X." Robin's mind was hazy at best. He couldn't remember much of anything that happened to him after he got knocked out. It was all one big blur, from the rooftop, to the lab, and finally to that tube. He rubbed his head, and tried to stand on his own. However, his legs weren't quite ready for that feat yet, so he had to lean on Starfire for support.

"You weren't dreaming Robin. It was Red X." Raven informed him "Or at least, someone who bears an uncanny resemblance.

"How did you all get here?"

"Whomever it was sneaked into Titan Tower, and left a message telling us to come here and get you... and when we did..."

"...we were separated and got our butts handed to us." Beast Boy finished Raven's sentence, so she gave him a death glare.

"I see. Well, I have faith that it won't happen again."

"So do we."

"We've got to escape from here, but first I have some questions for Red X." Robin was itching for a little revenge; no one jumps him and gets away with him, especially people he created. "You guys take care of the Hive." Not a single Titan moved from their spot. They were all a little hesitant about facing off against the Hive's cronies again, and Robin could tell.

"Listen to me, all you have to do is fight like a team and you'll win, guaranteed. C'mon Titans, let's move" Robin was right of course, and his words lit a fire under his friends. They dashed out of the containment room and into the hall. The Hive were already waiting for them outside.

"Well, look who decided to rejoin the party." Laughed Red X, who stood at the forefront. "I'm sure you've got quite a few questions for me Robin, but you'll have to beat me first. Team; entertain the Titans while the boy wonder and I chat." The two teams, squared off, waiting for the fight to begin.


	6. Titan Rumble

A/N Wow, I pumped this one out in hurry. If you want to read more, or you want to see more of a certain character, just let me know. Oh and I don't anything of the things here, except for the Hive Characters I created.

The New Hive: Chapter Six

"If you'll kindly follow me Robin, you'll get your answers." Red X laughed. Robin hesitated to move, more so because of the weakness that still wracked his body than because of any mental hesitation. Starfire put a hand on his shoulder

"You can do it Robin. Leave the Hive to us, we shall show them how a real team fights."

"Show that imposter who's the man, Robin!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Well Robin, your friends certainly have faith in you. Now, let's see you try and teach me a lesson." Red X turned his back to the Titans, and ran off down the hallway, back in the direction of the laboratory. Robin looked at each of his friend's faces and took off after Red X, passing right through the new Hive without a second glance. The Titans were in no mood to waste time. They all wanted to get payback for their earlier defeats.  
"Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted.

"Let's rock and roll!" Clash responded. The two teams rushed headlong into each other, with everyone squaring off. He switched his radio to its maximum volume, and launched a wall of sound at Beast Boy, who avoided it by transforming into a bird and taking off into the air. Starfire used her starbolts to keep Samurai off balance, although the young girl's agility kept her from landing a direct shot. Taffy tired to smother Raven again, but a solid hit from Cyborg's sonic cannon convinced him to try another tactic.

'Azarath Metrion Zinthos" Raven chanted, tearing one of the doors off its hinges and launching it at Samurai, who had maneuvered close to Cyborg. She had drawn her blade and was slashing away at him. He was barely deflecting her strikes until Raven's projectile nearly took her head off. In the brief respite, Cyborg reached out, snatched the sword out of Samurai's hand and broke it in two. A quick star bolt removed her from the equation. Cyborg turned his attention to Clash, who was keeping Beast Boy at bay with some kind of sonic blast. The only thing strange was the music blasting from the stereo the youth wore on his hip.

"Raven! Silence the punk!" Raven focused her mind on the stereo, using her telekinesis to overload its circuit and destroy it.

"You witch!" Clash screamed. "You busted my bloody record!" His rage blinded him from Beast Boy, who snuck through his legs in mouse form. Clash turned around, and was greeted by a King Kong sized gorilla fist to his face, knocking him clean out. That left Taffy standing along against the Titans. Seeing friends unconscious seemed to light a fire under the Hive member. Taffy went wild, flailing his outstretched limbs around the hallway, sending the Titans scrambling. All of their attacks bounced off his elastic body, nothing affected him.

"Hit'em with everything you've got" Cyborg ordered, raising his arm cannon to maximum power. They pounded away with everything they had, pouring all of their energy into Taffy's body. With one last muffled growl of anger, Taffy slumped against the wall, defeated.

"Woo-who! We did it!" Beast Boy celebrated, flexing his non-existent muscles whilst perched on Clash's unconscious body.

"Did you have any doubt?" Cyborg boasted. "We're the Teen Titans, and we never lose."

"Unless you count those times we got our butts kicked." Raven joked.  
"Did our little Raven just crack a funny?" Beast Boy prodded, causing Raven to blush a little.

"I do not mean to halt the celebration, but we must find Robin." Starfire said. The other Titans agreed, and they dashed off down the hall.

Red X led Robin back into the massive laboratory, and was standing in the center waiting for him when Robin entered.

"I hope our accommodations were up to your standards Robin. I'm sorry we couldn't be more hospitable." Red X said, his voice dripping with mock sincerity.

"I wasn't impressed." Robin retorted. "Don't expect me to be a repeat customer."

"I've got a novel idea, boy wonder. How about we settle this with hand-to-hand combat? No weapons, no gadgets, just skill."

"I'm game." Robin charged Red X, aiming for his head with a roundhouse kick. Red X ducked, grabbed his leg, and sent him rolling across the floor. He took the initiative, leaping up into the air over Robin's body. Robin rolled out of the way, then sweeped Red X's legs out from under him. Red X rolled out of the way of another kick and kipped back up to his feet. Robin pressed his advantage, assaulting Red X with a flurry of kicks and punches, all of which Red X deftly blocked and returned with equal skill. This continued until the two combatants locked each other hands in a test of strength. They pushed against each other with all their might, but neither could get a definitive advantage over the other. Red X ended the test by nailing Robin with a low blow, followed by an uppercut, flipping him backwards onto the cold floor.

"That was cheap." Robin groaned.

"Face the truth, you lost because you fought fair." Red X taunted his fallen foe. "I'm everything you are not. I'm everything you could be, everything you should be."

"That's a pretty big resume, but I'm more interested in the face behind the mask."

"Tsk tsk. Have patience, brother. You'll find out the truth when we decide its appropriate."

"What do you have to do with Slade?" Robin asked.

"Oh, I guess you could say we have a father-son relationship, but I've already said too much." Robin realized he wasn't going to get any more information out of Red X, so he made his move. He lashed out, landing a kick behind Red X's left knee, which buckled on impact. He rolled forward again, landing both of his boots squarely in his opponent's chest. Robin pounced on Red X, pining him down. He clawed at X's mask, succeeding in ripping it off his face. Robin only got the quickest of glances before Red X retaliated with a right hook, knocking Robin off his chest.

"We'll meet again Robin, you can be sure of that." Red X snarled, covering his face with his hands. One smoke bomb later, and Red X was gone.   
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Robin said to himself, stuffing the mask into his utility belt. A door whooshed open behind him, and he whipped around, ready to face the new challenge. To his relief, it was the Titans.

"Robin! You are alright!" Starfire flew forward, and grabbed Robin in a bear hug, lifting him up in the air."

"It's good to see you too Star, but would you please let go? I'm still kinda sore." Robin pleaded; she set him back down on the floor.

"What happened to Red X?" Cyborg asked, inspecting the scene of the battle.

"He got away. But what's more important is that we get out of here and go home. I think we could all use a long rest."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Beast Boy grinned. It took the Titans a while, but eventually they found their way out of the compound. Following a quick phone call to the authorities, they were safely back in Titan Tower.

"In celebration of today's victory, I'm gonna make a batch of my Tofu surprise!" Beast Boy declared to his gathered friends. Cyborg was preparing a witty retort, but of all people, Raven beat him to it.

"Is the surprise that no-one's going to eat it? If so, I'm more psychic than I thought." She said.

"Wow, two jokes in one day, that must be some kind of record."

The End.


	7. The Calm After the Storm

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

The Calm After the Storm

It was only mere moments after the Teen Titans defeated Red X and his Hive. From the shadows of their underground complex, X watched as they escaped, reveling in their victory. Robin had proved to be a much tougher opponent than he had bargained for, and he nearly salivated under his mask at the prospect of facing him again. It was true that his compatriots were defeated, but they had served their purpose well enough. The thought crossed his mind to leave them all to the police, but his honor got the better of his anger, and he returned to help them.

"Thanks for coming back for us, boss." Clash said, picking up the pieces of his prized music player, which was destroyed in the battle. "Bloody witch. She'll pay for this."

"What kind of leader would I be if I abandoned my soldiers?"

"In our defeat, we have dishonored both you and the Hive, my lord." Samurai's head hung low, and she looked almost on the verge of tears. All three of them had been top students at the Hive; this was the first time any of them had known failure of any kind. Brother Blood was so tough on all of the students that training under Red X was such an eye opening experience. After he had come in and chose them, they left the Hive for the first time in longer than they could remember. X brought them here to this laboratory and proceeded to teach them as much as he could about the Titans. For every bit that Brother Blood was vicious and demanding, Red X was...supportive. He would put them through rigorous training of course, but he would go through everything that he made them do. Over and over he would emphasize how important working as a cohesive unit was. They learned that the hard way, after seeing the Titans in action they believed him more than ever.

"That wasn't a defeat, it was merely a setback. Everything went according to plan." X comforted the young Asian. "I have to admit, you made me proud."

"I don't think Slade is gonna be too happy about this." Said Clash, pulling out his spare music player. In his opinion, Slade was the scariest bloke he'd ever seen. A lot of nasty rumors circulated about the fate of the first headmaster after Jinx, Gizmo, and Mammoth were defeated.

"Do you think he'll yell at us and be mad?" Taffy said, a horrified look on his face.

"I think he'll do a lot worse than that, Taffy." Clash told his teammate, causing Taffy's expression to grow even more exaggerated.

"Turn down that damn music, Clash. If I hear "Rock the Kasbah" one more time I'm going to make you eat that player. You leave the Tin Man to me." Red X had no idea how he would explain what happened to his master, let alone how he would react to it. For as much insight as he had into the tyrant's mind, it was often near impossible to figure out what he was planning.

"Yeah, I think he's just a big babaroon." Taffy pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What did you just say"? Samurai asked.

"Um...nothing."

"That's not important right now. I know a safe house where you three can hide out for awhile." Red X explained. He called up a map of Jump City on one of the only working terminals, so he could show them the exact location.

"What are you gonna do, boss?"

"I've got some planning to do. The Titans are going to be in a for a big surprise." With the police seconds away, the four teammates escaped into the night.

It had been a week since the Red X fiasco, and things had calmed down considerably at Titan Tower. Everything seemed to go back to normal: Cyborg was playing video games, Raven was absorbed in her latest novel, and Robin and Starfire were chatting about the previous weeks events. Beast Boy did make his Tofu Surprise, and just as Raven predicted, he was the only one who ate it. Not that he cared very much, that just meant that he would have enough leftovers to last him for a few days.

"Oh Robin, we were so worried about you." Starfire said. "But it saddens me to say that for a moment, we all believed that you were Red X once more."

"Everything's okay now, Star. I'm back home, and we showed the Hive what we're made of." Robin was happy that they had come out on top, but a lot of things still bothered him. Did Slade have anything to do with this? Who was that under the Red X mask? He was determined to answer each one. What upset him most was that even though he only got a glimpse of X's face, he could have sworn he looked familiar. Even with the lovely Starfire standing right in front of him, he found his mind wandering, something that happened a lot more frequently these days.

"Robin? Is everything alright?" She asked him, snapping him back into reality.

"I've just got a lot of stuff on my mind Star, but don't worry about Me."   
"Hey Robin! "Cyborg called from his seat on the couch. "It's your turn!"

"Awesome" Robin smiled at Starfire, and then leapt over the back of the couch into his seat. Starfire knew something was bothering him, though it wasn't totally obvious on the outside. She worried about him more than he expected, and ever since Slade began making their lives miserable, he had acted more and more freaky. There was not much that she could do aside from talking to him, so she simply floated back to the couch and plopped herself down next to Cyborg.

"Would you guys mind turning down that video game? Unlike you, I'd rather be able to hear when I get old." Raven said, not even bothering to look up from her novel.

"Sorry, Raven. The noise is part of the part of the overall experience. What's the point of installing surround sound if we don't surround ourselves with sound?" Cyborg responded. Raven's eyes glowed, and the game system levitated off the ground.

"If you want to be able to play this again, you'll turn it down." She threatened

"Yes ma'am." Cyborg picked up the remote and hit the volume down button. Beast Boy couldn't help but burst out in laughter from his perch on the kitchen counter.  
"She sure showed you, Cy!" Robin sighed to himself, just a typical night at Titan Tower. The night was about to take a turn for the strange. All of the lights inexplicably flickered, and the television shut itself off. When it turned back on, the video game was replaced by the sinister visage of Red X himself!

"Greetings Titans. It's so nice to speak to you again."

"What do you want?" Robin snarled.

"Such animosity Robin, one would think that I had done something wrong." The image laughed. "I merely wanted to tell you how impressed I was with your performance last week. I can't wait until I can face you all again."

'The feeling is mutual X." Cyborg said. "You've still got a lot of payback coming your way"

"Be careful what you wish for Titan...it may just come true..." The lights flickered once more, and Red X's image disappeared.

'He's gone!" Beast Boy exclaimed, crawling over the couch so he could tap the television screen.

"Not for long...he's got something in store for us, I'm sure of it. We need to be very careful."


	8. Three go out, one comes in

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

"I can't believe X put us on bloody house arrest." Clash moaned, staring out of the window of the apartment that they had been holed up in.

"Do not think of it like that. Think of it as a chance to rest, and reflect on where we failed against the Titans." Samurai responded. The apartment itself wasn't that bad, it was clean and spacious, which were the most important things. The neighborhood was awful, not that it mattered to the Hive. They snuck into the apartment late the previous evening, so as to not attract any unwanted attention. They did their best to make it as comfortable as possible, since the apartment would basically serve as their home for who knows how long. Samurai set herself up a corner of the apartment, complete with folded futon and her favorite bonsai tree. Taffy was determined to take the only bed for himself, and his teammates didn't feel like getting into an argument with their somewhat immature friend. That left Clash with the worn out couch in the small living room, which was more than enough for him. The surroundings weren't much worse than what they had to deal with at the Hive, which were nothing more than military style bunk beds.

"You can keep your reflection and whatever, I'd rather go out and party." Clash snorted, flopping back on the couch, which creaked under his weight. "What in the world is Taffy doing?"

"He's been jumping on the bed in his room for the past half-hour." Samurai sighed. Taffy was a powerful ally and a good friend, but his childlike antics grated even on her nerves on occasion. When she first met him, she had severe doubts about how such a simple person could get involved with the Hive, until she saw his abilities first hand. Clash wasn't much better when it came to personal attitudes. He could be crude at times, and his taste in music certainly lacked. But, just like Taffy, she knew that he could be trusted. All three of them had started their training at around the same time, so they banded together more out of necessity at first than for any other reason. The greatest honor that she had ever received was to be chosen by Red X out of all the other students at the academy.  
"Where do you think Red X disappeared to?" She asked.

"I've got no blooming idea. That bloke's sneakier than a shadow in the sunlight." As much as he hated being told what to do, he respected Red X. Simply by the way he carried himself around, it was easy to tell how much of a bad ass he was. The same went for Samurai, any girl that could cut a part in his hair in the blink of an eye was okay to hang with in his book.

"It doesn't really matter. When he needs us again, he'll come and get us." There was no way to tell what Red X was up too, he simply directed them here, told them to not cause any trouble and then disappeared. There was even a chance that he would never return, not that they thought he would abandon them.

"Still, it's been so long since I've been able to just wander around the city." Clash turned his attention from his partner back to the world outside the open window. He could see the people down on the street as they went on with their lives, unaware of who was watching them with such wishful intentions.

"It's been a long time for all of us."

-

"Let's go out and get some pizza. It's been forever since last time." Beast Boy pounced up from his seat, landing in monkey form on Cyborg's steel shoulder. "I'm starving, not to mention sick of being cooped up in here." Robin quickly silenced his friends complaining with a stern glare.

"We have to be careful Beast Boy. You remember what Red X said. People like him don't make threats unless they planning on backing them up." It had been another two days since X's cryptic television appearance, and still nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.

"I know, I know." Beast Boy moaned.

"I hate to say it Robin, but BB has a point. We'll all go stir crazy if we're stuck inside here for another day." Cyborg interjected. Since Robin's self imposed quarantine, he had put two coats of Turtle wax on the T-Car, two coats of wax on the T Sub, and he even put a coat of the stuff on himself. He was running out of things to do.

"Alright, fine." Robin knew that Cyborg was right, even he was getting a little bored with the lack of action. "But we'll need a volunteer to stay here and keep watch over the sensors." Robin called up Raven on his comlink, and asked if she would be willing to go on watch while the three of them went out. The com was silent for a few seconds, before Raven's unmistakable monotone crackled through the small speaker.

"No problem. Starfire and I are meditating."

"We owe you two girls a big one." Robin pocketed the comlink and flashed a thumbs up to his two male friends.

"Whoo-hooo! Guys night out!" Beast Boy shouted. Within five minutes, they had all piled into the blindingly shiny T Car, and were roaring out for a night of soda chugging and pizza gobbling.

-

It had been two hours since the trio of male Titans left, and the two remaining Titans were starting to get a little antsy on their own.

"Are we done meditating Raven? My mind is so free of thoughts that I am having difficulty thinking of new ones to fill it." Starfire ran her hand through her flowing red hair, sighing deeply.

"Yes we are. You're certainly coming along Starfire." When they first began meditating, it was a arduous task getting Starfire to sit still long enough to get anything down, but now she could handle herself as if she had been doing it for years. Despite their glaring differences on the outside and the inside, the two girls shared a special bond. No one ever said being part of a group of crime-fighting teens was easy, especially when one had to do it whilst living in a house that contained three macho boys. Both were very happy to have another girl to chat with, instead of always having to talk about video games, and car, and whatever.

"Let us celebrate our successful mediation with some delicious ice cream." The two walked down to the blessedly silent kitchen, and fixed themselves heaping bowls before sitting down in front of the television. But before they could switch it on, a chill ran up both of their spines.

"I hope you left some for me."

Raven and Starfire whipped around to confront the voice, and found themselves staring straight at Red X.


	9. The Chase Begins

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

"You have quite a lovely home, ladies. It's too bad I didn't get a better look the first time I visited." Red X laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Raven sneered.

'I only wanted to visit my dear friends, is that a crime?"

"Your false sincerity does not fool us, evil one." Starfire levitated into the air, intent on blowing away the intruder with a barrage of her starbolts, but before she could attack Red X sprinted between the two startled teammates and crashed through one of the windows.

"Ah Ah Ah, no roughhousing inside kiddies. Let's take this outdoors." Red X taunted before disappearing. Starfire and Raven flew through the shattered glass in pursuit, the thought that he just leapt out of a window that was hundreds of feet above the ground having never occurred to them.

"Where did he go?" Starfire shouted. X seemed to have vanished again, right into thin air.

"I don't know. This is impossible." Since when could Red X fly or teleport, Raven thought to herself. Once again, she wasn't fast enough. Once again, Red X was only a few feet away and she missed him. Fighting him was like fighting a ghost that knew what they were going to do before they even did it.

"Doing the impossible is my job, ladies." For the second time that evening, Red X got the jump on the two friends. As soon as they turned around to face his voice, he leapt from his perch on the building and slammed feet first into both of them. Twisting in mid-air, he grabbed Starfire by the arms, and no matter how much the Tamarainian juked and jived; she could do nothing to shake Red X off. Eventually, he managed to force her into a nose-dive, causing the two of them to plow headfirst into the sand of Jump City Bay. Raven, having regained her senses, levitated down to the ground to assist her fallen friend, who exploded out from beneath the sand, her eyes glowing green with rage. Red X stood apparently unscathed a few feet away.

"What's the matter, Starfire? Don't like the beach?" X taunted the steaming mad alien girl. Before Starfire could rush into another full frontal assault, Raven made her move.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She chanted. The sand underneath Red X's feet began to shift as it became enveloped in the black aura of her telekinetic powers. It swirled up like a sandstorm, totally surrounding X's body. Raven manipulated it even further, forming more of into a massive column, and sending it crashing into Red X's body. He flew backwards from the force of the blow, flipping end over end before coming to a stop in a heap. A kip up put him back on his feet.

"Very impressive Raven." Red X laughed, dusting the sand off of his costume. "I'll be emptying sand out of this suit for weeks thanks to you."

"I've had enough of your sick jokes." Raven snarled, preparing another column of sand.

"What is life but a jest, my dear Raven? Unfortunately, I have an appointment to keep, so if you'll excuse me." Faster than Raven could unleash another sand column, X removed a small sphere from his belt and dashed it against the ground. A flash of brilliant white light exploded from the tiny orb, blinding both of the Titans long enough for him to take flight.

"We must pursue him!" Starfire shouted, giving chase to their fleeing enemy as soon as she regained her vision. Raven quickly followed suit. Excellent, Red X thought to himself, my plan worked perfectly. The chase was on.

-

"What do you guys think Raven and Starfire are up to?" Cyborg asked, chowing down on his fourth slice of pizza.

"Nothing at all. They probably wishing they could have gone out with us." Beast Boy laughed out loud, sending bits of cheese and sauce flying through the air that landed directly on Robin's cape. "Whoops....sorry" He apologized meekly. Robin sneered at his friend with a look of disgust and wiped the offensive ingredients off with his glove.

"Can't you eat with your mouth closed, Beast Boy?" He spat.

"I said I was sorry, don't get your tights in a twist." Crap, Beast Boy thought, he's back in moody mode again. Whenever he lapsed into one of these moods, nothing short of accomplishing whatever task his mind was locked on at the moment could brighten him up. These bad moods could last for days if something especially important was swirling behind that mask of his. There wasn't much any of the Titans could do about it other than letting it run its course.

"Lighten up, Robin." Cyborg interrupted. "Despite his normal eating habits, I'm sure it was an accident."

"You're right. Sorry for snapping at you, BB. You both know how much has been on my mind lately." His two friends could only nod their heads in agreement; they knew all too well how much their leader had been affected by the past week's events.

'We should contact the girls, and see how they're doing." Cyborg added.

"Good idea." With a flick of a finger, Robin activated his comlink, but no matter how many times he hailed Titan Tower, no one answered. "Something's wrong, I'm not getting any answers. They wouldn't have left without telling us...let's roll." The three Titans abandoned the rest of their meal, rushed to the T Car, and sped off towards Titan Tower at top speed.

-

"I can't take this anymore!" Clash shouted. "I have to get out of here and do something! Anything! He didn't know quite what it was that made him so desperate to leave the safe house. He didn't know if it was the company he shared, the lack of anything to do, or the simple fact that he had been explicitly told not to leave. Whatever the reason, he had to escape.

"We were told not to leave this building." Samurai cautioned. She too felt the urge to leave, but disobeying a direct order was not something she was frequently inclined to do, as much as she wanted to.

" I know, I know, I know. I just want to go outside for a while."

"I cannot force you to stay, Clash. You are free to do what you want, just be careful."

"Thanks a lot, Sam. Just don't tell Red X." He knew he wouldn't get anything else out of Samurai. And true to his prediction, she became silent. Making his way to the window, he climbed down the fire escape and strolled off down the street, not sure what he even wanted to do.

-

"What the hell happened here?" Robin asked. The Titan's living room was a disaster area. The couches had been tipped over, one of the windows was totally smashed, there was glass everywhere, and more importantly, Raven and Starfire were nowhere to be seen. The three Titans searched the room top to bottom, and they only found one piece of evidence: a small piece of paper with a red x scrawled onto it. Robin took it into his hands and tore it to shreds.

"Titans...we have work to do."


	10. Subway Showdown

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Two hours after the chase had begun, it was still going strong. Red X led Starfire and Raven through parts of Jump City that neither girl even knew existed. Every time they thought they had him, he would turn a corner, or duck into a building, and they would have to wait until he reappeared in front of them. Whoever was under that mask, he never tired out, and neither did his mouth, the entire time he was egging the Titans on with a constant stream of taunts and insults. Over rooftops they chased him, down countless streets and alleys, X always a step ahead. Neither of the pair could land a solid hit on their foe. What was strange was that X didn't make any attempt to fight back, apparently content with just keeping them at arm's length, although deep down they worried what might happen if he did turn back on the offensive. Based on what Starfire saw first hand, and what Robin told them about their encounter, X was a match for any of the Titans.

Starfire was just about to grab the back of his cape when he dropped through the floor itself, prompting her to curse aloud in her native tongue.

"Shaz! He is slipperier than a Denerian Muck Worm" Starfire crouched so she could peer through the open manhole into the depths of Jump City's subway system, the smell nearly overpowering her. To her regret, she saw nothing more than a few faint maintenance lights. Raven floated down to the ground next to her friend.

"I've seen zombies with less stamina than him, but we have to keep after him."

"Even though this dark place smells like Beast Boy's room, I agree." Starfire said, pinching her nose together. Raven climbed down into the hole, with Starfire following close behind her. Once they hit bottom, they were greeted with the depressing sight of six separate tunnels breaking off from the one they were in.

"He could have gone down any of these. It'll take days to search them all" Raven groaned.

"Wait, friend Raven. Are those not Red X's prints?" Despite the poor lighting, she was right; leading down one of the tunnels were a series of prints with an X embedded in the heel. Not wasting another second, the two Titans dashed down the tunnel as fast as they could.

-

Clash was lucky that he didn't stand out too much, the last thing he wanted was to get a lot of attention. Well, any more attention than being a near six-foot tall (including the Mohawk) guy dressed like he was a member of the Sex Pistols could attract. He knew he shouldn't have disobeyed Red X's orders, but the prospect of eating pizza like a normal person was too good for him to pass up. Typically, Clash leapt at the chance to buck authority and break rules, but he respected X enough that he would listen to him from time to time. Maybe I should have invited Sam and Taffy to tag along with me, he thought to himself. On second thought, it's better that just I get in trouble than all of us. That's not to say any of them were a stranger to trouble, personally he just seemed to attract it a lot more than they did. This time, however, trouble came looking for him, driving a shiny futuristic looking car. Out of the car stepped three people that he was all too familiar with, one a half robot, one green, and one dressed in tights. The thought that maybe he should have worn different clothes this one time briefly flashed through his mind.

"What do you think you're doing here, Clash?" Robin growled, whipping out his fighting staff.

"What does it bloody look like I'm doing, you wanker? I'm eating pizza! Clash spat, returning Robin's icy stare.

"What have you done with Raven and Starfire?" Beast Boy shouted. Before Clash could speak again, Cyborg lunged forward and grabbed him around the collar, lifting him up into the air.

"You better give us some answers, and fast." He said. Clash didn't fight back, or even try to break himself free of Cyborg's vice-like grip. He knew there wasn't anything the Titans could do to him, he hadn't done a single thing wrong, so the only things he did were to smile and shrug his shoulders.

"So your two lovelies have gone missing, have they? Well, I'm sorry gents but I haven't either of them."

"You're lying." Cyborg growled. It was hard for him to restrain himself from pummeling the grinning punk.

"Cross my heart and hope to die. If you didn't realize, blokes, but I haven't done anything illegal, and this constitutes assault. You can't legally touch me." Robin turned his eyes away from the Hive member. As much as he hated to admit it, that was the truth. Clash hadn't formally broken any laws, and the last thing they needed to do was to tarnish the Titan's stellar record.

"He's right, Cy. Put him down."

"You've got to be kidding!" Cyborg and Beast Boy said in shocked unison.

"I said put him down." Robin yelled at his friend "We've got more important people to deal with." With a throaty grumble, Cyborg roughly dumped the still grinning Clash back down into his seat. The three Titans climbed back into the T-Car and sped away without saying another word. Clash watched with a satisfied look as they drove away.

"Here's to you, boss." He said, lifting his glass and downing it all in one big gulp.

-

Red X's trail led the girls through the dank sewer tunnels for what felt like an eternity. They passed through mile after mile of tunnel, each one similar to the one that came before it, the only difference being the subway tracks that appeared when they changed from one tunnel to another. Just when they were about to quit the trail and turn back home, they made another startling discovery. The tunnel they were walking in suddenly opened up into a brightly lit station, with Red X standing dead center in front of them.

"Hello girls. I was beginning to think that you would never make it." X laughed. "Shall we dance?" To X's surprise, Raven was the first to attack him, using her telekinesis to tear one of the ticket booths out of the ground and launch it at him. He dove out of the way, the booth shattering into a thousand pieces against the tiled wall behind him. As soon as Red X completed his roll, Starfire unleashed a volley of star bolts at him, knocking him off balance.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos" Raven levitated a wooden bench, and sent it hurtling at the stunned X. This time her projectile found its mark, slamming into his chest and breaking in two. Starfire moved in for another volley, but X recovered faster than she had expected, hurling a smoke bomb at the oncoming alien. Starfire couldn't veer out of the way in time catching the brunt of the cloud dead on. Blinded by the thick smoke, she didn't see Red X come hurtling through the cloud with a flying kick that sent her crashing down onto the train tracks. As soon as Starfire drew herself back up to her, he glued her feet to the ground with a pair of trademark X's. He then turned his attention back to Raven, who watched with a shocked look on her face as her teammate get taken out of action in a matter of seconds. She leapt back into action, raising as many object off the ground as she could and launching them at Red X, who managed to dodge each one. X had managed to maneuver right in front of her, and was throwing punches and kicks at her as fast as she could use her powers to block them. Thinking quickly she took control of his cape and wrapped it around his head. X staggered backwards, clawing at the cape in a desperate attempt to regain his vision. Before he could tear the cape off, she walloped him with a second bench, knocking him back against the wall. In the heat of the battle, neither combatant noticed the rumbling underneath their feet that was growing louder and louder by the second. By this time, Red X had managed to tear the cape away from his face, and resume his attack on Raven. To her disadvantage, there was nothing more for her to use against him, so she was stuck defending herself against his physical onslaught. X knocked her backwards with a roundhouse kick, and quickly silenced her with an X over her mouth. In the sudden lapse in action, Red X finally took notice of the approaching train.

"Shit, I thought this place was abandoned." He said under his breath. Starfire had noticed the train too, but the naïve Tamarainian was still too busy trying to free herself to think about what the loud noise and bright lights approaching her meant. Raven couldn't do anything, she couldn't warn Starfire what was fast approaching her, and even if she could do something, Red X stood between her and the tracks themselves. The lights of the train were now fully in her view, signaling that it was only a few moments before its imminent arrival. She had to do something, but before she could even stand, Red X turned his back on her and bolted toward the tracks. Starfire had finally freed herself from the X's, but found herself frozen in place at the sight of the massive train barreling down on her. Mere moments before it hit her, Red X smashed into her, knocking her off the tracks and out of the way of the train. It was another few moments before she snapped back into reality, and fully absorbed the actions that just took place. She looked around the tracks frantically for any signs of Red X, but not a trace could be found of him. Raven, having removed the X from over her mouth, rushed over to aid her friend.

"Can someone please explain to me what just happened? " She asked.

"I do not know." Was all Starfire could say.


	11. Aftermath

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

"You failed me Red X, and you know how much failure upsets me." Slade sat on this mock throne, looking down at his henchman standing before him. As impossible as Red X thought it was, Slade's masked face somehow wore a look of contempt. "You were supposed to capture them for me."

"I apologize, master." Red X bowed as low as he could manage. "The Titans proved to be far more capable than I originally planned.

"Underestimating the Titans seems to have become a habit recently. What shall we do about your Hive teammates, I wonder? Perhaps they could use some more...discipline" Red X's body stiffened at the thought of what that disciple could entail. The Hive was notorious for breaking down failed recruits to the point where they are no longer effective. Not a good practice in his mind. Slade shifted forward in his chair, hands clasped in front of him as he waited for Red X's response.

"If I may sir, do not take this out on them. I am to be blamed for this failure, and I accept all responsibilities. In fact, I have been devising a new plan.." Before he could finish Slade interrupted him.

Silence! Don't worry about making any new plans, X. I have something special in store for the Titans, and you are very lucky that you are an integral part of that plan. I will not tolerate another failure." Red X bowed and apologized again. "Now, go and fetch those rejects...we have much work to do." For the third and final time, Red X bowed to his leader, then turned on his heel and strode out of the chamber. Before he left, he spoke again, under his breath so that Slade could not hear him

"And you are lucky that put up with this."

"Maybe I'm just not hearing this right, but you say Red X saved you from being run over by a train?" Robin asked, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "Explain it one more time please." Confusion was not quite a strong enough word for what Robin was feeling.

"It's that simple Robin, believe it or not." Raven took a sip from her cup of tea, and explained the previous night's events for the third time. Red X broke into Titan Tower, and lead Starfire and her on a chase throughout Jump City, eventually leading them into the subway system. There was a short battle, which ended with Red X pushing Starfire out of the path of an oncoming train. He disappeared right afterwards, and then the two friends found their way out of the tunnel and made their way back to the Tower where they waited until the rest of the team returned. They were all standing in front of the window that Red X crashed through, trying to find and pick up all the shattered glass that littered the floor.

"Raven speaks the truth, Robin." Starfire added. Beast Boy put his own two cents in:

"Wasn't this the same guy that tried to kill all of us just a few weeks ago?"

"That's what's bothering me, BB. It just doesn't make any sense...why would someone go through all that trouble just to go and save the life of one of his enemies?" This only served to complicate the thoughts that were constantly swirling through his head. More and more questions popped into his head, everything that he had placed in such careful in his head had been thrown completely in disarray. He knew that the rest of Titans were struggling with the same dilemma that he was, they all had their doubts about Red X. "We have to face it, Robin. There may be more to this guy than we think, whether that's good or bad I can't say." Cyborg said.

"I'm not going to rest until I get some answers." Robin slammed the tabletop with a fist.

"That's going to be a problem. This lunatic comes and goes like a ghost, who knows when he'll show up next." There was no rhythm or rhyme or Red X's schemes. He was just as bad as Slade; each of his plans seemed to have some form of ulterior motive as if he were more interested in toying with the Titans than actually destroying them. The fact that he could strike at any time was even more infuriating. There were absolutely no clues to when or where Red X and his henchman will appear next.

"We're not gonna sit around and let this freak have his way with us. I want someone on watch all times. If you see anything suspicious at all, you alert the rest of team right away." The Titans didn't object to the order. As much as they didn't want to, they all knew that Robin was right. If they were going to stop this madman, they would have to be on full alert at all times. One by one, each one nodded in agreement.

"Good." Robin smiled wearily. "I'll take the first night, the rest of you go and get some rest." After cleaning up the remaining glass, the team retired to their respective rooms for a much-needed rest, save for two. Starfire stood in silence before Robin, waiting for him to speak first.

"What is it, Star? Is something else wrong?" He asked.

"About Red X...I feel that it is necessary to say this. There was something about him which I am not able to "put on my finger on" as you say."

"Like what?

"It is hard to explain, but Raven felt this as well...there was something familiar about him...something...good." Starfire's head drooped. Robin took a few moments to absorb the information, and then he spoke, smiling and trying to sound as reassuring as possible

"Thanks for the heads up Star. I'm sure we'll every answer we want. Now go to bed."

"Thank you, Robin. Goodnight." She returned his smile and floated off to her room.

It was 6 A.M when Clash returned to the little apartment that he shared with his two hive teammates, and the sun's earliest rays were just beginning to rise over Jump City's skyline. He snuck back in through the same window, trying to be as silent as possible, so that he didn't wake anyone. The last time he someone accidentally woke Samurai up; she threatened to do things with her sword that he dare not repeat aloud. All he wanted to do was to find his bed, crawl into it, and not wake up until the next time the sun arose. Taking his encounter with the Titans as an omen, he spent the entire night partying. He made his way into the kitchen, only to find his two teammates sitting there, with perturbed looks on their faces.

"Where have you been?" Samurai asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"I...um...I...got lost?" Clash stammered, his eyes nervously moving from Samurai's icy glare, to Taffy's imitation of her look, to the sheathed katana blade that lay on the table.

"Lying is bad." Taffy chided. He shook his finger at Clash like a mother scolding a young child.

"Bloody fine. The Titans found me, and after I shooed them away, I decided to celebrate." The fact that the Titans confronted him in public and couldn't do a thing to him did wonders for his ego. It was a great feeling taking them down a peg or two. To his surprise, Samurai had lowered her head, and Taffy now wore a look of surprise.

"What Happened?"

"And where did you encounter the Titans, Clash?" Red X asked.

"Oh no." Clash whipped around to face his leader. "I'm sorry X, I just had to get out of here. I was going stir-crazy; I swear we didn't fight and they didn't follow me back." Red X sighed and shook his head.

"That doesn't matter, we have more important things to deal with. I want all three of you to pack up and come with me. Slade has requested our presence."


	12. The Plot Thickens

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Slade's headquarters had to be the most secretive place in the history of the world, and no matter how many times the three Hive graduates traveled down to see their mysterious benefactor, they never got used to it. Only Red X seemed to have the slightest inclination of their location, to them it was just a labyrinth of tunnels, elevator shafts, and darkened side rooms, in fact, it looked more like a dungeon from a role-playing game than it did a technological fortress. They weren't surprised that they weren't required to wear blindfolds simply to go through the entrance portal, as much good as it would have done, since there must have been mile upon mile of dim hallways.

"Taffy is tired of walking!" Taffy moaned, wobbling himself back in forth as the quartet strolled past a series of consoles manned by Slade's robot henchmen. "Are we there yet?"

"Bloody Christ Taff, if you don't stop asking that." Clash sneered. The young graduated must have derived some kind of bizarre joy out of asking that question every five minutes and aggravating his friends.

"What did I tell you two about fighting?" Red X interjected. "We're almost there." Taffy stretched and squirmed his way to hide behind X, getting in a parting shot at Clash by sticking out his tongue at him. As much as Slade had trained them to work together as a team, nothing he could do could stop the seemingly constant bickering that grew out of Taffy's childish antics and Clash's short temper.

"Master, may I ask what Slade has in store for us?" Samurai asked from the back of the line. For her part, she had been silent the entire trip, this was the first time she had spoken the entire way. He truly wished that he had an answer for her.

"I wish I knew myself. Slade's not one for straightforward explanations. We can only wait and see." Samurai solemnly nodded in agreement. By that point they had reached the door that led into Slade's main chamber. X removed one of his gloves and laid his bare hand down on one of the many identification machines that marked every single door in the complex. A computerized voice announced his name, and with a gust of cold air, the automatic door slid open. There was one more thing that the New Hive never got the hang of...coming face to face with Slade himself.

"Excellent, you've arrived. You'll excuse me if I forgo any pleasantries, but we have much to discuss." Slade sat on his massive throne, looking more like a sinister king than anything else. To further the illusion of power, the dais itself was a good five feet off the ground, lending Slade an even greater presence.

"On the screen behind you is a layout of a government run weapons testing that was, until very recently, top secret. Contained within is a device that you four shall acquire for me." Red X and his team turned to study the image. After a few seconds of staring, Taffy nudged X, who turned back around and addressed Slade.

"If I may, sir, but what exactly does this device do? Slade rose from his seat, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm so glad you asked." Slade said with just a hint of excitement. "It's called the Banshee, and if set just right, possesses enough power to completely level all of Jump City in seconds."

"Very impressive. But you don't plan on actually using it, do you? The room fell silent for a few seconds. There was no way that Slade was crazy enough to destroy the entire city, it just wasn't his style. Slade laughed and spoke again

"Of course not, my faithful Red X, I'm merely going to use it to lure the Titans here so we can finally destroy them. Now, enough wasted time, get out there and bring me that device." Red X couldn't quite figure it out, but something about this situation didn't settle with him.

A few hours later, at Titan Tower, an unlucky Beast Boy had drawn the night shift to watch the monitors. There was nothing more he hated than having to stay up late and stare at bleeping sensors, and boring news reports. Everyone else got to sleep in his or her nice, safe warm bed, but did he? Of course not, because he swore that life hated him sometimes. It had seemed like weeks since the last hint of anything even remotely criminal happened. Beast Boy yawned loudly, leaning back in the mock captain's chair. He still had a couple more hours until he could wake Raven up and go to sleep himself, as fun a proposition as that sounded. Raven was in nasty moods when she got up on the right side of the bed, and he didn't want to think how she would act if she got up on the wrong side. A cold shiver ran up and down his spine as he chased the thought of a severely pissed off Raven out of his mind.

"Could this possibly get any worse?" The changeling groaned aloud to himself. As if on response, a blurb flashed on one of the local news channels mentioned a break-in at a local research and development laboratory. Beast Boy frantically searched for the remote, found it under his chair, and turned up the volume as loud as it could go. A bland news anchor was speaking in a grave tone:

"...although preliminary reports are sketchy, we have reason to believe that a number of super-powered individual have laid siege and subsequently broken into a highly classified research and development institute. Police have surrounded the building, and so far there are no reports of any major injuries" Beast Boy activated the emergency wake-up system and within a few moments was surrounded by the rest of the Titans who were still clad in their night wear and looking very unhappy.

"This better not be another case of crying wolf, Beast Boy, you remember what happened last time." Raven growled, trying as hard as she could to mask the fact that she was wearing a full body nightgown adorned with bats and birds.

"No! I swear!" Beast Boy motioned back to the screen, which was running the same report over again. A smile crossed Robin's face, who to the confusion of his teammates, was still wearing his mask.

"This has to be the work of either Red X, or Slade, no one else would pull such a blatant heist."

"I dunno, Robin. This looks so much like a trap, I'm surprised that the news reporter didn't say it himself." Cyborg added.

"That may be true, Cyborg, but we don't have much of a say in the matter. We have to go through with this, we don't know the next time we'll get a shot at Slade."

A/N Only one or two more chapters to go! I have a great big finale in mind, but not much of an idea after that, so I'm open to suggestions.


	13. Setting the Stage

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The entire block was a riot scene. Over half of Jump City's police force had convened on the spot to stake out the situation and set up barriers to keep the throng of gawking onlookers that had gathered at bay. Hundreds, if not many more had turned up to not only watch the siege, but in hopes of catching a glimpse of hero or villain. People bustled back and forth, trying to get a closer look at the action, with the boys in blue doing their best to keep them out of potential harm's way. It had been about an hour since the affair began, and the Titans felt it was about time to leap into action...at least that was what Beast Boy thought.

"Why don't we just drop down there are all hero-like, kick some booty, sign some autographs, and then call it a night?" He asked impatiently, pacing back and forth. The Titans were perched on a tall rooftop adjacent to the laboratory, overlooking the action on the street. While the siege was indeed inching toward its second hour, the Team had only just arrived.

"Because we're not just going to blunder into this." Robin answered from behind a pair of binoculars. "There's obviously more here than meets the eye, why else would they sit there and wait when they could have easily blasted their way out a long time ago." According to the reports he intercepted from the police, the Hive had broken into the facility under cover of darkness and quickly overwhelmed the armed guards. What they were after exactly was still a bit of a mystery, but the words "confidential" and "highly dangerous" passed between the officers far too many times for Robin's taste. Since they took over the laboratory they dug in, without making a single attempt to escape.

"Robin's got a point BB, remember what happened the first time we tangled with these guys?" Cyborg added. "I'd rather not have a repeat of that butt kicking."

"We can't just sit here without doing anything either. We have to act." Raven added, even though she had reservations about leaping into action. The results of her last encounter with Red X still hung in her mind. If Raven had a slight reservation, Starfire flat out didn't want to go. One of the people down in that building saved her life, and no matter how Robin tried to rationalize the action as having some kind of ulterior motive, Starfire was convinced that Red X had done it out of the goodness of his heart. Unfortunately, she felt that she was the only one who held that particular idea in any esteem. For some bizarre reason, she wanted to sit down and talk with whoever it was behind that mask.

"Perhaps we should try and resolve this peacefully" Starfire spoke out; unsure of the reaction she would receive from her teammates. Robin turned around and stared at her for a few seconds before responding.

"I wish we could Star, but something tells me that talking wouldn't solve anything." Robin returned to watching the scene in through his binoculars, and for just a moment, Starfire's head hung in defeat.

"We've had enough words, let's get down to business. Titans Go!" With a flick of his wrist, Robin launched out a grappling hook and swung down towards the glass roof of the Lab, followed close behind by his friends. The sound of glass shattering into a million pieces signalled the Titan's flashy entrance. If the Titans had any doubts that the Hive were waiting for them to arrive, the notion was quickly dispelled. Red X stood proudly before a giant machine that looked like a cross between a computer tower and a series of interlocking, revolving rings. The rest of his hive flunkies flanked him and the device.

"I'm so glad you could all make it to my little party. I'm sorry I didn't send out any invitations." Red X's laugh echoed throughout the room.

"The party is over, X. We're gonna take you down, once and for all." Robin growled. Red X laughed again, only this time much louder thanks to the accompaniment of the Hive.

"But that's where you're wrong, my friend...the real party's just begun. Destroy them." The Titans didn't wait for the Hive to act. Robin charged Red X straight on, activating his battle staff and unleashing a flurry of strikes at X. Red X dodged and weaved his way through the onslaught, but couldn't find a large enough opening to strike back. Back flipping up onto a ledge, Red X launched a series of X's in an attempt to give himself some breathing room and knock Robin off balance. Robin retaliated by knocking the projectiles out of the way and continue his determined advance, but the momentary lapse gave X the time necessary to manoeuvre close enough to Robin to kick the staff out of his hands and backhand him to the ground. Recovering quickly, Robin kipped up planting both of his boots square into X's chin, staggering him backwards.

To the right, Raven had paired off with the silent Samurai. The latter drew her sword, held it over her head and brought it down to the ground with a whoosh of air. Raven had no idea what happened until the wall of air slammed into her. Sensing her advantage, Samurai charged forward, and aimed a slash at Raven's face, which she blocked at the last second by forming a wall of crackling black energy. It continued like this, with Samurai's relentless swipes barely stopped, until a battle of wills began. Samurai had beaten Raven against a wall, and the only thing stopping her blade from finding its mark was Raven's telekinetic power. The two pushed back and forth, Samurai's blade and strength on one side, and Raven's willpower resisting on the other. Out of desperation, Raven developed a drastic plan. She focused as much of her energy around one her hands as she could manage and grabbed hold of Samurai's blade. Catching her opponent off guard, she then refocused her power pulled the blade from her hands, sending it skittering across the ceramic floor. Seeing her precious blade treated with such indignity, Samurai's eyes blazed with anger.

To the left, Taffy had wrapped himself around Cyborg, to the point where the Titan could barely move. He pulled with all of his strength, but nothing he could do could budge the grinning Hiver off, in fact, the more he struggled the tighter the bonds became. Beast Boy rushed to aid his friend, transforming into a bird and clawing at Taffy's eyes. The elastic man's gripped loosened slightly, but it was enough for Cyborg to grab a hold of him and slam him into the ground. Taffy roared in pained anger, flailing his arms and legs around, sending Cyborg and Beast Boy scrambling to avoid getting smashed. Cyborg primed his sonic cannon, levelled it at Taffy's body and fired. The blast struck its target in the chest, but the blast's destructive energy was wasted on the stretching body, which just absorbed all the power. Taffy's grin returned as he lengthened his arms out to grab both Cyborg and Beast Boy. The three rolled around in a ball of metal, fur, feathers, and silly putty.

Clash and Starfire traded blasts, and much to the Tamaranian's dismay, his sound waves were just as powerful as her star bolts, if not more so. She flew above him, avoiding his blasts, and constantly responding with a torrent of her own. Every few moments, the opposing projectiles would connect with each other, resulting in a deafening sound and a shower of light. Even though Clash's sound waves were more powerful than Starfire's, she was far too manoeuvrable for him to land a solid enough shot to swat her from the sky. Starfire realized that he could go on for as long as she could, so she decided to switch up her strategy. Avoiding his latest barrage, Starfire banked sharply, and dive-bombed Clash at top speed. She ploughed into him hard enough to demolish a brick wall, driving him down into the tiles and creating a ditch in the process. However, the punk revealed himself to be a great deal tougher than he looked, rising up from the rubble covered in dust and bits of ceramic. Starfire hovered back up into the air, preparing herself for another dive bomb, but this time he was ready and waiting for her attack. Right as she was about to collide with him, Clash clapped his hands together, sending out a shock wave that knocked the alien for a loop, but she too was tougher than she looked.

Stunned by Robin's attack, Red X lurched backwards. Robin lunged forward again, catching X with a flying cross chop to the chest. Red X rolled with the force of the blow, eventually coming to a stop in front of the still whirring device. Issuing another of his echoing laughs, Red X called out to the Hivers:

"Alright children!" He boomed. "It's time for us to go home! If you want to continue this little game Titans, you'll find us here." Red X reached down to his belt, pressed a button, and within seconds the entire roomed had filled up with thick black smoke. When the smoke cleared, all that was left in the room were five very confused Teen Titans. Red X, the Hive, and the machine had all disappeared without a trace, save for a small slip of paper.

"Does anyone know what just happened?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head in disbelief.


	14. The Finale

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The directions were simple enough. Attached to the note was a small tracking device, and the words "Follow the Signal." The blinking indicator led the Titans out of Jump City, deep into the mountain range that ringed one side of the teeming metropolis. The place looked all too familiar to the Titans, for it was near the place where they first encountered Terra, which seemed so long ago. Through the twisting canyons they walked, having abandoned the T-Car. No matter how far they walked, the tracking device kept up its incessant beeping, urging the Team to go on just a little bit farther. With the bright sun now blazing overhead, each Titan felt like they had been walking non-stop for hours, with only the blinking device acting as guide. Robin half expected them to reach their destination only to have the stupid thing explode in his hands in some king of sick joke.

"Just how long do we have to walk?" Beast Boy asked, dropping to the ground so he could rub his aching feet. "It's been forever." For once, Raven agreed with Beast Boy.

"We don't seem to be getting anywhere, and I don't know about you, but spending this much time in direct sunlight isn't exactly my thing."

"We stop when this thing tells us to stop." Robin answered. As if on cue, the handheld began frantically beeping and flashing, then shut off without warning.

"Umm...did you break it?" Cyborg leaned over Robin's shoulder to get a closer look at the now silent machine.

"No. I think we're here." As one, the Titans all looked up and surveyed the surrounding rocks. If any of them were expecting something special, then they were unfortunately disappointed, for the section of the canyon they stood in was no different than any of the ones they had walked through before.

"I see nothing but rocks." Starfire said, running her hands over the sides of the canyon's walls. A sudden rumbling knocked the startled Tamarainian backwards. She watched in awe as the rock wall in front of her slowly grinded open, revealing a metallic tunnel that seemed to lead deep into the ground. A familiar voice echoed from deep within the tunnel.

"Well, it looks like our prestigious guests have finally arrived. Please, do feel free to come and join us."

"Slade." Robin growled. As if he needed any more of a reason, Robin barrelled down into the tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him, the rest of the Titans close behind. For the first few minutes of their furious dash, the Titans met no real resistance. That is, until the very walls opened up and Slade's robot minions poured out.

"Take out as many as you can, but don't stop moving!" Robin shouted to his friends, before launching himself feet first into the first minion that stood in his way, separating its torso from the rest of his limbs. Smoke and sparks filled the hallway as Cyborg and Starfire blasted anything that wasn't a Teen Titan. They knew that they couldn't hold back even a hint of power in these crucial moments. In mere minutes, dozens of broken henchman littered the tunnel's floor, some of them still futilely flinching. The Titans pressed on, not once bothering to look behind them, and only halting when another group of Slade's cannon fodder presented itself.

"Beast Boy! Clear the Path!" Robin shouted as a dozen more robots stood blocking the passage forward. Beast Boy charged forward, transforming in mid step into a rhinoceros and stampeding straight through the crowd, sending bodies flying left and right. Before they could continue onwards, a second group came running up from behind them.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven whipped around, calling up her psychic powers. The crackling black energy welled around the feet of the approaching minions, its swirling reminiscent of a black hole. With a wave of her hand, the energy shot up in the form of a pair of walls and crushed the group against the sides of the corridor before they even knew what happened. Undaunted, the Titans continued their descent into Slade's underground fortress.

-

Slade watched in silent acceptance as the Titans viciously tore through his legion of henchman. He did not doubt that they would succeed in defeating them, the robots were weak after all, but what had surprised him was the ease they dispatched the obstacles, and the determination that drove them to face him. Slade sighed slightly to himself, and wondered what he could accomplish if only they would realize the futile error of their ways and side with him. Time and time again he had formulated faultless plan, and time and time again the Titans persevered and somehow managed to come out on top. They survived situations that they had chance of surviving. This day would be different, Slade swore. This time they would not defeat him. Today he would finally have the ultimate victory over the Teen Titans. Slade erupted into maniacal laughter that lasted until one of his technicians carefully approached his throne.

"Sir, the machine is operational. We await your word."

"Excellent." And the laughter began anew.

-

"Robin, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," Cyborg grunted, before smashing in the face of a nearby foe with a single punch. For every enemy they destroyed, two more would appear to take their place. Cyborg knew that the other Titans were showing the first signs of fatigue, and even he was starting to lag a bit with the constant fighting. Aiming his sonic cannon at three of the robots, he let loose a sweeping blast that demolished all three.

"We're almost there! I can feel it!" Robin encouraged. The way he fought was an inspiration to the other Titans; no matter how tired he may have been he kept on going, kept on urging them onward if they slowed, kept on coming to their aid if they were overwhelmed. As he shouted his encouragement to the rest of the team, a pair of the minions snuck up behind him. Robin turned only to see a pair of fists coming straight for his face, but before they reached him they stopped. The two minions rose into the air, caught in the steely grasp of a giant green gorilla. They only struggled for a moment before being crushed like tin cans. Beast Boy grinned ear to ear, and then waded back into the swarm, sending enemies flying with each swing of his lanky arm. Behind the boys, Raven and Starfire were back-to-back, with Raven providing shielding for Starfire while the alien girl lashed out with star bolt after star bolt. To their relief this batch had finally begun to thin out, with the last one being destroyed by Raven, who cut it in half with a black disc. The corridor was totally empty, save for the near exhausted Titans. It was painfully silent, and not a single enemy appeared. Had they finally reached their destination? The door that was visible at the far end of the hallway seemed to indicate that they had indeed. Robin took in each of his friends one by one, sizing up the situation. They were all bloody and battered from a multitude of wounds inflicted in the never ending fighting, wounds that they had ignored thanks to adrenaline. The same wounds that now caused them to wince in deep pain.

"Are you ready?" Was all that Robin said, though he already knew the answer, regardless of how beat up they all were. With grim resolve, the Teen Titans walked down the brightly lit corridor, perhaps walking to their ultimate destiny. Cyborg and Starfire simultaneously fired their weapons and blew the door clean off its hinges. They were in no mood for being bothered to open it correct way. They stepped into the room, which instantly opened up into a high-ceiled throne room, with Slade sitting dead centre, in a massive, ornate chair. On both sides of the chamber, massive computer banks manned by his minions lined the walls, with each screen showing repeating footage of the Titans fighting their way through the compound. To Slade's left sat the Banshee, its rings spinning in lazy circles. To Slade's right stood none other than Red X.

"Welcome to my humble home, Titans." Slade boomed, indicating the room with a grand sweep of his arms. "My last one was so much better, but thanks to you it can't be used anymore."

"Whatever hole you hide in Slade, we'll hunt you down and dig you out." Robin sneered, the stony glare on his face easily matching a statue's.

"I'm afraid I won't need to hide once I'm finished." Slade gloated. In his hand he held what looked like a small remote control.

"What's your game, you psychopath?

"Oh, its no game I assure you. If you'll kindly direct your attention to the machine at my side." Slade motioned toward the Banshee. "When it is activated, it will release a shock wave. While the wave is weak at first, it will grow in power the farther out it goes, and will eventually be powerful enough to level anything in its path...including cities." Robin, just like the rest of the Titans, was flabbergasted.

"You can't....it would kill millions." Cyborg exclaimed.

"But I can, and I will." Slade didn't notice Red X's gaze turning just enough for him to look at his leader. That threat must be part of the bluff, he told himself.

"If you think we're going to surrender..." Robin began, but Slade quickly cut him off:

"I don't want you to surrender, I simply wanted you here so you could watch the city you loved so much get reduced to rubble."

"What!? You told me you weren't going to use it!" Red X gasped, and took a step toward Slade.

"I lied. Now get back in your place." Slade commanded. Red X raised his fists for a moment, but ultimately complied and stood still again. Slade turned his attention back to the Titans, who had watched this event in confused disbelief. "All you have to do is to get this control away from me to shut it off, but first let me reintroduce some old friends to you." Slade pressed a button on the control, and with the hiss of activating pistons a panel in the floor opened up. From below the floor a platform rose up, on which stood all six hive graduates, and a small army of Slade's robot minions. Slade laughed, and hit another button. The Banshee began humming loudly, increasing in sound with each passing second, whilst the rings spun faster and faster. Every computer screen now changed to show a timer counting down from five minutes. "Titans! Get that control, now!" Robin screamed. He sprinted forward, leaping up into the air at the last second. He vaulted over the stunned crowd, and would have reached Slade had not one of his minions sacrificed itself to stop him. The rest of the Titans rushed in to aid their friend and leader, but it all appeared to be of no avail. They were tired and hurt, and the odds were overwhelmingly against them, but still they fought on with everything they could give, and more. Whenever there was a break, one of them would make an attempt to go for the control, but each time they were halted in their tracks and dragged back into the fray. No matter what they tried, they could not break through. The timer had ticked down to two minutes.

Red X watched the battle rage in front before him. He watched the Titans continue against the insurmountable odds, even though it must have seemed like all was lost. He watched the timer tick down the seconds. Slade had lied to them all, he had promised that the device would not actually be used, and he wondered how many times Slade had lied to them before, how many times he had used them for his little games...and then he wondered how many time Slade had lied to him, had used him. Deep down, he knew he hated Slade from the very beginning, though at the same time he felt compelled to follow his orders. Once more he looked down at the still fighting Teen Titans. How many times had they selflessly put their lives on the line to save Jump City? When he kidnapped Robin, they had fought tooth and nail to get him back, but would Slade do that for him if he had gotten captured? He looked at Slade, who was blindly watching the fight, literally on the edge of his seat in excitement. The timer had clicked down to a minute. He would murder the entire city, just so he could see the look on the Titans face when he did. Red X had seen enough. Without another thought, Red X wound up and slammed Slade square in the head with a roundhouse kick. Slade toppled off of his throne and fell sprawled down to the floor. In a flash, the fighting stopped, and all attention turned to this new development. Slade leapt to his feet in a fiery rage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He roared. Red X found the controller, and brought his boot down on it, crushing it in a small shower of sparks.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Before Slade could attack, the Banshee's humming grew to an inhuman shriek, and the rings were spinning so wild that they looked like they would break off from their axis at any second. The counter stopped ticking down, but it was quickly replaced by a flashing red light.

"You fool! It's gone out of control! We'll all be blown to bits!" Slade shouted, turning to run before being tackled from behind by Red X.

"You don't have much time! Run, all of you!" He shouted to the combined crowd of teenagers. None of them needed to be told a second time. No longer concerned with who was friend and who was foe, they all scrambled towards the single exit, as the first explosion shook the entire chamber. The Titans stopped for a moment, to see what was going on between Red X and Slade. X turned to them and shouted again:

"Run!" The last thing the Titans saw was Red X advancing on his former master, as another explosion tore through the throne chamber.

"You're not escaping this time." Red X growled to Slade. The Titans dashed back out the corridor, ignoring the burning pain that coursed through their bodies, instead focusing on forcing their legs to move faster and faster. The entire compound seemed to be collapsing around them; with each step they took the explosions seemed to be only a step behind. After an eternity of running, they burst out into the canyon, and they kept on running. Within moments of the Titans escaping the compound, a giant fireball exploded through the side of the mountain, sending dust and rocks scattering in all directions. The Titans stopped running and turned back to inspect the wreckage for any remains. To nobody's surprise, the Hive members were long gone, most likely half way back to their school by now. More importantly, there was no trace of either Slade or Red X. With a weary smile, Robin was the first to break up the silence.

"Titans...let's go home."The End.


	15. Rest Interupted

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Life had returned to normal for the Teen Titans. At least as normal as life could be for a bunch of super powered teenagers who lived on an island in a building shaped like a giant "T". For a few days after the Red X incident, there was this surreal aura that seemed to surround everything, a feeling that still re-surfaced from time to time. One by one, they had come to grips with the confusing sights that had played out in front of them. Through their best efforts they concluded a number of things. Most importantly, they had survived, and so did the many citizens in Jump City, none of whom knew just how close they had gotten to being wiped off the face of the planet. They owed their victory in part to the actions of a person whom they would have sworn at one point was out for nothing but their total elimination. Red X, who they thought was Slade's right hand man, turned on his master completely out of nowhere. He was the one that caused the machine to malfunction, eventually resulting in the destruction of one of Slade's hideouts, and possibly the death of Slade himself. No matter how hard or how long they thought, they could not figure out a single reason for Red X's sudden betrayal, outside of perhaps he had simply gotten tired of taking orders. Whatever his motive, the Titans owed him a debt of gratitude, one that they believed they would never get a chance to repay. Search as they might, they could not uncover the body of either Slade, or Red X amongst the rubble. Robin had wanted to empty out the entire tunnel system, but that would have taken months to accomplish, and that amount of time was not something the Titans had to spare. Both were more than likely still buried in a pile of rocks somewhere deep within below the Jump City Mountain range. As for the Hive, they too had managed to escape the explosion, albeit far ahead of the Titans. By the time they had escaped, the graduates were long gone. Since then, neither hide nor hair had been spotted in all of Jump City. Without their leaders, who knew what they would do, or even where they would go. More than likely the other teenagers had eventually migrated back to the safety of Hive Headquarters. More than anything else, the Titans were concerned with a little bit of rest and relaxation, two things they felt they were long due.

"Stop hogging the darn TV Cy, you've had it all morning." Beast Boy whined, bouncing up and down on the couch.

"That's a load and you know it, BB." Cyborg retorted. Most of Beast Boy and Cyborg's time was spent either stuffing themselves, fighting over the Television, or harassing whomever was in the immediate vicinity. Wisely, the rest of the Titans quickly learned that if they wanted any peace and quiet, to stay far, far, away from the living room. Everyone other than Starfire, that is.

"Friends! We do not need to be arguing like this!" The alien girl pleaded. She had taken it upon herself to serve as an impartial mediator between the two, although she had little or no success whatsoever.

"We made a deal, Robojerk " Beast Boy teased, his face scrunching up in his best imitation of Raven's death glare. "You got the remote in the first half of the day, and then I got it the second half."

"I don't see how that's fair, you one man zoo, you know that all the best stuff comes on at night." Beast Boy made a lunge for the remote, but Cyborg proved to be the quicker of the two in this occasion.

"Why do you not choose a viewing program that you both like?" Starfire said, although her suggestion fell on two pairs of deaf ears. "Or perhaps I will choose what we should watch?" The two boys stopped long enough to turn towards Starfire and shoot her stereo glares before returning to their argument. Starfire's head drooped in defeat, and she decided to leave the bickering boys and find out what the rest of the Titans were up too. Her first stop was of course Raven's room. Even though she typically kept to herself, every once in a while she could be counted on as a mall partner, or some joint mediation, or even some girl-to-girl chatting. Despite there obvious differences, the two girls were a lot closer than most people would be lead to believe. There was something about switching bodies that helped to develop a bond between two people. Leaning her head against Raven's door, she listened in for the telltale sound of Raven's chanting. Through the door, she could hear "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" being repeated over and over again. With a few swift knocks, Starfire opened the door a crack and stuck her head in.

"Hello, friend Raven. If you are not busy, perhaps we could become cold together?" Raven stopped chanting, and shifted around to look at her friend.

"I assume you mean chill, but unfortunately, I can't. I've been having strange dreams lately and I really need to concentrate. Maybe later."

"That is okay." Starfire smiled, and shut the door as quietly as she could manage. The only person left was Robin, and she was sure he would be either training down in the gym or watching the monitors for any signs of criminal activity. Not her idea of fun, but at least the company would be nice. To her surprise, she didn't find him in either of those places. Instead she found him, sitting up on top of the roof of Titan Tower, staring off into the distance in the direction of his beloved Jump City. If there were one word to describe Robin at times, introspective would be the word used. Sometimes he would come up here and just stare for hours, with nothing more than his thoughts and the view to keep him company. Starfire decided that it would be a better idea to just leave him as he was. As much as she wanted to talk to someone, Robin was not the best candidate when he was in one of his reflecting moods. Starfire turned around, and made her way back down into Titan Tower, fresh out of ideas. She didn't want to stay cooped up in the tower all day, however. After an hour or so of aimless wandering around the building, she inevitably came to the conclusion that if she were to do anything that day, she would have to venture out into the city. If there was one thing she enjoyed doing, it was taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the big city. Every time she visited, she experienced something new and exciting. Just as she was about to leave, the doorbell rang. Well, it wasn't so much a doorbell as it was a sophisticated audio notification device invented and installed by Cyborg. Thrilled at the aspect of a new face, the Tamarainian flew down the stairs to the main entrance. She flung the door open with all her might was about to shout a greeting when something unexpectedly stole her voice right from out of her throat.

"Hello Starfire…may I come in?" asked Red X.


	16. Reversal of Fortune

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Starfire gasped for air, fighting for enough breath to speak, but try as she might, she could not gather enough. A squeak, as much from fear as it was from surprise was the only sound that she uttered. Red X stood motionless before her on the front step of Titan Tower. He was battered beyond belief, and he was bleeding from at least a dozen wounds. His costume was in tatters, but strangely enough, his mask remained whole. They stood like this for a while, with a frozen Starfire staring at someone who was supposed to be dead, but appeared very much alive.

"Are you going to just stand there and stare?" Red X said, his voice obviously wracked with pain. He reached out towards Starfire with one of his gloved hand, and staggered forward, dragging one of his feet as he walked. He could only reach out with one arm, as Starfire noticed that his other arm hung limply at his side. Red X's movements were nothing like the self-sure and skilled foe that she has fought before. It was like he had become a shell of his former self. X kept moving toward her, and for reasons she could not understand, her legs would not respond to her commands. When he was almost within arm's length of her, Red X spoke one last time:

"Don't just stand there…help…me…" He groaned before pitching forward into the arms of the confused Starfire. The Tamarainian's mind violently snapped back into reality. She didn't know much about medicine, but even she could tell that if Red X didn't get any help, that he would soon die. Blood had soaked through the majority of his costume, his skin was caked with dirt and dried blood, and his breathing was so shallow that it was almost still. She turned back inside Titan Tower, and ran through its halls, yelling at the top of her lungs. Within seconds, the entire team surrounded the young girl and the limp figure she held in her arms. Beast Boy's eyes widened when he fully realized just who the person was.

"What the heck is he doing here?! Didn't he die or something?! He screeched, partially hiding himself behind Cyborg. There was something about seeing your friend carrying someone who should be a ghost in her arms that distinctly underved him.

"What should we do?" Cyborg asked as he moved in closer to inspect the body. "He's in terrible shape." The assembled Titans all turned to look at Robin, eagerly awaiting his response.

'There's only one thing we can do. Get him upstairs as quickly as possible, and then Raven will heal him as best as she can." He didn't expect her to refuse him help, and his thoughts were justified when she pulled her hood away from her face and nodded in agreement. With the rest of the group close behind, Starfire flew the body up to the main room and laid it gently down on the sofa. Raven waved her friends back before kneeling down next to the sofa. She closed her eyes in deep concentration and slowly passed her hands over each one of Red X's wounds. She had done this sort of healing on her friends many times before, but never had she needed to perform it on a subject who was in such bad shape. It took her a long time to go over his entire frame, but she was sure that she didn't miss a single cut or bruise. With a hint of a smile, she stood up and turned to address the Titans, who had watched the entire process with rapt attention.

"His wounds will heal, and he will live, but he'll be out for a long time." There was no sigh of relief, if any of them had expected to breath one.

"I'm surprised that he took that much of a beating and survived. I have to say I'm impressed in spite of myself." Cyborg said.

"But what do we do now?" Starfire interjected. "Do we let him sleep until he wakes up, and then let him go?"

"Are you kidding Starfire? If we did that, he'd just wake up and try to do to us what happened to him!" Beast Boy gushed, flailing wildly. "I think we should turn him into the police…after unmasking him of course." Licking his lips, Beast Boy slinked forward, intent on finding out just who had plagued them for so long a time. Robin swiftly moved forward and knocked his friend's grasping hand away. The look on his face was enough to discourage any similar thoughts in Beast Boy for quite a long time.

"Whatever we do, we give him that much respect at least." Robin began. He took a long sideways glance at the unconscious figure before he spoke again. "I think we'll keep him here for a while, I've got a few things I'd like to ask him."

"How do you propose we do that? Raven asked sarcastically. "Lock him in a room and tell him he's not allowed to leave?"

"We'll rig up something down in the basement to hold him for now. Cyborg, I'll leave that part up to you."

-

Red X awoke with a sharp pain in his head, and to his surprise, didn't feel much more than that. The last thing he remembered was being in intense pain, and trying to make it to Titan Towers for some reason that even he didn't fully understand. He had made it to the front door, and then passed out. He shook his head to try and clear his blurry eyes, but when they finally did, he wished he hadn't. There wasn't a single familiar thing about his surroundings, and he wasn't even sure if he was still in Titan Tower. It wasn't until he went to put a hand to his aching head did he realize that he couldn't move any of his limbs. A pair of thick metal cuffs kept his hands and feet separately bound, and a chain was used to tether him to the walls of his makeshift cell. He could tell it was so simply because it looked like a room in someone's basement, if the normal person's basement had metal walls in addition to unmarked cardboard boxes. Question after question flashed through his aching mind. Where was he? How long had he been out? Why aren't I in pain?" Before he could give any of his questions serious thought, a familiar form finally came into plain view.

"Well, it looks like our un-invited guest has finally woken up." Robin jibed, a wry smile inching its way across his face. "I don't know how you survived, or why you came here, but I intend to find out."

"What happened? Why are all my wounds healed, I thought I was going to die. "

"You have Raven to thank for that second part, though I don't think you're in a position to ask questions. You've got a lot of explaining to do" Robin felt good about having one of having one of the Titan's worst enemies totally out of his element. "First and foremost X, why did you come back to Titan Tower, especially in your condition?" To his surprise, Red X began laughing.

"To be honest, I came here because I want to join the Teen Titans."


	17. Shades of Gray

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Robin could not believe his ears. He could have sworn that Red X, one of the most deadly enemies the Teen Titans have ever faced, just said that he wanted to join the team.

"What did you say?" Robin asked. There was no way X said that, he probably said that he came to destroy them for ruining Slade's nefarious plans. But wasn't it Red X who was responsible for foiling those same plans, as well as saving the lives of the Titans in the process? Robin was so used to things being black and white, why must he suddenly get slapped in the face with these shades of gray.

"I said I want to join the Titans." There was no doubting what Red X said this time, but by no means was Robin ready to totally accept X's apparent good intentions. There was no ignoring that he had not only tried to eliminate the Titans numerous times before, even kidnapping Robin at one point, but there was no denying that he had saved Starfire's life in the subway so long ago, and then there was his change of heart deep down in Slade's mountainous lair. Despite anything that Red X had in his favor, it would be a long, long time until Robin could trust someone like him. Robin closed his eyes in concentration, and for the briefest of time, the image of the fallen Titan Terra flashed in his mind. He would not allow history to repeat itself. During all this introspection, Red X stayed silent, waiting for Robin to collect his thoughts and answer. The response was exactly as X would have predicted.

"What makes you think that any of us are going to trust you? Last time I checked, we weren't exactly on friendly terms." Robin couldn't shake the feeling that he owed Red X more gratitude that he would readily admit for saving Starfire. It wasn't something that they talked about, but Robin's honor code demanded that he must eventually do the right things, as much as he was against it. Red X gave a long sigh and spoke, his voice steeped in what sounded like authentic regret. For obvious reasons, it sounded very out of character, but at the same time it felt like Robin was listening to a person he had known his entire life.

"I knew you would say that." X's head hung. "I understand why you would feel that way, with all the things I've done, and tried to do. I wouldn't expect you to accept me in an instant."

"You aren't kidding." There was something in the way he spoke that made Robin want to believe him despite all of his instincts.

"It may seem fantastic, but you must believe that I am being sincere, for all that may be worth to you. I'll do whatever it takes to prove myself to you…and the rest of the Titans."

"It'll take a hell of a lot to do that, X. If it was up to me, you would sit down here and never see the light of day again, but we'll leave your fate up to the rest of the Titans." Robin turned to walk away, but turned back around when Red X called out once more.

"I don't blame you for what you think…I probably deserve to rot for eternity, but I just wanted to say thank you, if for nothing more than giving me that chance." Robin winced at his former enemy's gratitude, if no other reason than it was the last thing he had expected Red X to say. Neither did it do anything to help quiet the tumult raging in his head.

---

"Red x wants to do what?" Cyborg yelped. "You can't be seriously considering this."

"I don't know how to explain it, but there was something in his voice that made me think he was being truthful, even if it was just for a second." Robin ran his hands through his black hair in frustration. After leaving Red X alone with his thoughts, Robin gathered all of the Titans together in their living room so he could get their opinions on the situation.

"Robin, do I even have to mention what happened with Terra?" Raven growled. "The only reason I agreed to heal his wounds is because of what he did back with Slade."

"I know, Raven, I know. The question is if we can afford to take a chance with him." Raven's reasoning was faultless. They had all been betrayed before, and only Beast Boy had taken it worse than Raven. She hid away in her room for days after Terra's unfortunate passing. She barely even came out for food. Robin didn't want to think what would happen to her if the same thing happened again. Out of all the Titans, she was obviously the one that was attached to the rest of the Team with the shortest string. There had been times when he honestly believed she would quit and walk away, but through thick and thin she stuck with her friends. As much as Raven would want to keep it contained within her mind, Robin was all too aware of how important her friends were to her. He had no clue what Raven would do if she ever lost them.

"For once, I totally agree with Raven. I don't think it's a good idea." Beast Boy had been hit like a ton of bricks when Terra joined Slade. It had affected him so badly that he pursued the object of his affections deep into the bowels of Slade's complex all by himself. He was closer to her than anyone, and all Robin could assume was that even the gregarious shape-shifter would be a little hesitant to accept a team member who was trying to kill them not that long ago.

"My friends, we must give him a chance. Has he not proved in the past that there is good within his heart?" Coming from Starfire, this was not a surprise in the least. The Tamarainian had spoken of the perceived (by her anyway) light in what everyone else thought was a pitch black soul. Starfire had seen something in Red X that she could explain no better than Robin could give reason to the intangible that he too sensed in the captured criminal. In fact, this devotion to his character seemed to be rooted a lot deeper in her mind than her usual naiveté concerning potential new friends.

"Irregardless, we have to make a decision on this right now, since it's kinda illegal to keep him locked up in our basement." Cyborg pointed out. Robin sat in silence for few minutes, turning the problem over and over again in his mind. The rest of the Titans waited patiently for their leader to make his decision. Robin finally decided.

"As much as I want to just hand him over to the police and be done with him, its much more important that we prove a point. We are the good guys here, and we have to show that we can be merciful to those who want to redeem themselves, no matter what they have done in the past. Do any of you disagree?" Robin met the stares of each of his friends one by one, waiting to see if any of them thought otherwise. When nobody spoke up, he nodded his head and gave a weary smile.

"It's decided then. Let's go give Red X the news."


	18. Crime Spree

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

A thousand thoughts crossed Red X's mind as he struggled against his bond deep in the bowels of Titan Tower. All of his gear, save his mask, had been removed from his body, and no amount of struggling could free his limbs. Would the Titans accept him? Would they believe it was just another trick and ship him off to some ultra security prison? What would he do if they simply kicked him out of their home? There was no where he could go. Returning to Hive Academy was out of the question, seeing as how he hadn't seen cape nor costume of his former teammates. For all intensive purposes, all communication between the two parties had been cut off. It pained him that he had been separated from the three graduates, and the thought that they were possibly out in the city on their own weighed even heavier on his beleaguered mind. If he was set free into the city, would he inevitably return to crime, or could he find some other occupation? For as long as he could remember, he had been trained to only do one thing, and that one thing was simple, he was trained to destroy the Teen Titans. Now that he had forsaken this monomaniacal ideal, what was he capable of? His musings were interrupted by the sound of a door opening, and then by many feet walking across the floor towards him. Robin had returned, and he had the remainder of the Teen Titans in tow.

"We have come to a decision, X."

"Ready to play judge, jury, and…executioner are we? Red X snickered for reason he didn't understand. Even at this crucial moment, he could not help but needle his rival any way he could.

"Watch it." Robin grunted. "Now is not the time to be making jokes, especially in your position." Robin noticed Red X's head droop for a moment. "You'll be allowed to stay here with us in Titan Tower under constant surveillance, and if…if you prove yourself, you'll be allowed to join us." Red X smiled beneath his mask. Behind Robin, the Titans stood silent and stone-faced. The only one who showed any emotion throughout the preceding was Starfire, who wore a small smile. It did not surprise him in the least to see this kind of reaction in them, considering everything that he had done, and tried to do to them, but to see the alien girl smile did more to reassure him of his future than anything Robin could have said. The ones called Cyborg, Beast boy and Raven said not a thing, did not do anything aside from standing and watching with rapt attention. Something about the pale young girl at the same time intrigued and unnerved him. It was her eyes. They looked as cold and lifeless as the metal floor underneath their feet, but something very powerful burned behind them. Was it hatred? She was the one that healed him, but by the way he was told, she had done it against her wishes.

"You won't be bound, but you are not allowed to leave the confines of the tower unless you are accompanied by one of us." Robin continued.

"When will I be able to accompany the team out into the city? Red X asked.

"Not for a while, you still have to prove that your word means something."

"And if there's one thing I mean to do, it's to prove myself. So when do you plan on unlocking me, if I may be so bold?" A blaring siren answered his question for him.

"Everyone up to the main room, now!" Robin shouted to his friends before turning back to Red X. "I'll be back to deal with you."

---

"What's going on?" Asked Beast Boy. "Is there some bad-guy booty we need to kick?"

"Not quite, Beast Boy. According to police reports, three separate banks across Jump City were all simultaneously robbed." Robin explained. "In each of the cases, there were few clues left behind, and each job was finished before the police could even arrive."

"Wow" Cyborg exclaimed. "Whoever did this must have put a serious load of work into it"

"No doubt, but there was one thing in common with each of the robberies."

"You mean, aside from the fact that they were done under our noses, and then the culprit escaped without a trace?" Beast Boy joked, although his laughter was stifled quickly by a single glare from Robin.

"In each case the vault doors were torn off their hinges, and the only thing left behind were trace amounts of water on the floor. That has to be some kind of clue. Raven, Cyborg and I will search each individual site, just to make sure the police didn't miss anything. Beast Boy and Starfire will stay here and keep watch."

"You're leaving us here alone with him?" Beast Boy whined.

"He's locked up in the basement, BB. There's no way he's escaping, and besides, you heard what he said." Cyborg didn't trust a word that Red X had said, but it was the only thing he could think of that might make Beast Boy calm down. It didn't work

"Do not worry, Beast Boy" Starfire chimed in. "Red X will not attempt anything, for he has given his word. We are safe."

"If you say so Star, but this whole idea still gives me the willies." Beast Boy's body shivered.

---

Exactly one hour later, the three Titans spanned out into Jump City and searched their respective crime scene from top to bottom. It had been quiet back at Titan Tower, far too quiet for Beast Boy's liking. Just like Starfire and Cyborg assured him, Red X didn't break out, and he didn't try to kill anyone. In fact, as he was sitting, watching the screen, Starfire was down in the cellar, talking to their prisoner. Why she had chosen to talk to him of her own accord was beyond reason. He wouldn't dare go down and stand near him, let alone try to strike up a pleasant conversation with the lunatic. He was happy sitting up in the control room, waiting for his fellow Titans to report their findings. Cyborg was the first to call in.

"The police reports were right, I can't find anything here. Although its more mud than water. I'm giving up and coming back. Cyborg out." Raven reported in next, but just like Cyborg, all she found was an empty vault with the floors covered in about three inches worth of water on the floor, more than at the other two sites. Robin was the last to call in.

"I found what appear to be skin samples, but aside from that, nothing but the water on the floor. I'm coming home after I do one more sweep." Within another half-hour, the Titans had all re-gathered in the living room of Titan Tower.

"So, do any of you have a clue as to what happened, because I sure as heck don't." Cyborg groaned. The Titans all nodded no in turn.

"Why do we not ask Red X for help? Starfire suddenly spoke out. "Perhaps he knows what is going on?'

"I don't want to give him that sort of advantage over us, but I don't think we have much of a choice." Robin admitted. "I'll go ask him myself."

---

Robin stood in front of his rival without saying a word for several minutes. When he finally spoke, he did so quickly, explaining the situation in as few words as he could manage.

"Look, if you know anything about what's going on, it would benefit you to tell me now."

"I think I might have an idea, but I will only tell you on one condition."

"And what might that be?"

'That you trust me enough to not only set me free, but to let me lead the Teen Titans into battle."


	19. Battlefield of the Mind

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

"No deal"

"What's the matter, Robin? Aren't my terms fair?

"Don't be insane X; you know I can't accept that."

"And why not, Robin?

'I don't trust you. It's that simple."

"Is that all Robin? Is that the real reason?"

"What are you talking about?"  
"Maybe you're afraid. Maybe you're afraid that I'm telling the truth, and that I'm the only one who can save Jump City. "

"Shut up."

"Perhaps that's not it. Maybe you don't want to be overshadowed by someone, maybe you hate the idea of having to play second fiddle to someone? You know what that's like don't you?" Robin narrowed his gaze at his captive rival. He was practically seething with anger. "But that's why you formed the Teen Titans, isn't it? That's why you run them like a …

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs. His eyes grew wide in surprise at his verbal explosion. In a moment he was regained his composure and spoke again. "You're not going to get in my head. Don't try this again, or you've earned yourself a first class ticket to Arkham Asylum." Red X laughed in response.

"I must apologize; I just couldn't help myself, ha ha ha." Robin turned on his heel and stormed out of the holding cell, the sound of Red X's laughter echoing in the corridor behind him. How did he allow that to happen? Nothing makes sense anymore. Now more than ever was Robin determined to decipher what little clues they had and solve this crime without having to rely on that two-faced lunatic. So deep into his thoughts was Robin that he almost didn't notice his communicator buzzing on his belt.

"What's up? Please tell me you have something."

"I ran those tests you wanted, and I think you might want to come up and check this out."

---

Robin rushed up to the Titan Tower laboratory as fast as he legs could carry him. After blowing through the doorway, he found Cyborg hunched over one of the sterile lab tables. Row after row of vials and dishes lay scattered in front of him.

"What have you got for me Cyborg?" Cyborg reached across the table and picked up one of the dishes.

"This is that skin sample you found. You were right, they are human skin samples, but they're more like scales than anything."

"Scales? That's interesting."

'That's not all. The water you collected there isn't just regular water. It's grade A Jump City sewer water."

"What about that mud? Cyborg turned around again, and searched amongst the table until he delicately lifted a vial out of its containment rack. Contained inside the glass vial

"After doing a bunch of tests, I found trace elements of this certain kind of iron ore. "So?"

"Well, the only place anywhere near Jump City where this stuff can be found is at an abandoned quarry outside the city."

"Great work, Cyborg. We've finally got something to go on" Robin turned to leave the lab, but before he could leave, Cyborg stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"How did things go with Red X?" Cyborg asked, eliciting a sneer of anger out his friend.

"Don't ask."

---

Minutes later, Robin had the rest of the Titans assembled in their living room, and had Cyborg tell them what he had said in the laboratory.

"So what are we gonna do? Beast Boy asked, slurping noisily on a soda.

"Based on Cyborg's information, I've decided that we're gonna split up. Cyborg, you and Beast Boy will investigate the sewers below the first bank, whilst Starfire and I check out that quarry."

"The sewer?! Gross." Beast Boy groaned, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Raven looked up from her book for the first time during the meeting, when she didn't hear her name mentioned.

"What am I going to do?" She asked. Robin grew silent as he searched for the right words to express what he needed to ask her.

"Raven, your powers are psychic, right?

"Yes they are, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Can you read minds?"

"Not really, but I can read emotions."

"That'll have to do. In addition to watching over the tower when we leave, I want you to go down and keep Red X company." Raven's face became a mix of anger, surprise and confusion.

"You want me to do what!?"

"Just go down and talk to him, try to sense what he's thinking, if he's telling the truth. Do you think you handle that?"

"Of course I can." Raven sneered. Beast Boy, who was watching her reactions intently, could have sworn that he saw her eyes gleam jet black for a split second before returning to their usual color.

"Alright, but don't let him manipulate you. He tried to do the same to me."

"I can take care of myself." Raven snapped, pulling her hood over her face. "I'm going down now."

'Wait, friend Raven, please do not leave us angry." Starfire called after her friend, to no avail. Robin shook his head in dismay. They all knew far too well that when Raven got into one of her angsty, angry moods, that there was absolutely nothing anyone could do or say to help out. Allowing her to brood until it blew over was practically the only thing that could be done.

"Just let her go. She knows what she's doings…I hope." Robin added. "Let's get going, we've got a lot to do."

---

Raven was angry. She kept telling herself that she wasn't some kind of babysitter.

"Don't let him manipulate me?" She asked the shadows that surrounded her. "Do they think I'm some kind of weak minded nobody?" In her mind, Red X was nothing more than a crazed villain. He had been able to convince Robin to give him a chance, but there was no way that he would be able to pull any wool over her eyes. Her will was far too strong to let anything like that happen. There was total silence and she floated down the corridor to the room where Red X was kept. She keyed in her security code onto the door and entered the cell.

"Well hello, Raven. Have you come to keep me company?"


	20. The Sewer

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

"Don't get any ideas. I didn't want to come down here, I was ordered too." Raven sneered.

"It's amazing the trouble you can get in when you're simply following orders. I should know" Red X chuckled. "So, little black bird, are you watching my cage today?"

"Don't try to play games with me you psychopath. It won't work" Raven pulled her cape tightly around her body, and gave Red X the hardest glare she could manage. He laughed again, though it was totally devoid of any joy. In the recesses of his mind, he could feel Raven's attempts reading his thoughts. It felt like there a finger roving around his cranium and pressing into his brain. He shut his eyes and concentrated with all his will, forcing the probing presence back outside his skull. Raven grunted from the exertion and stumbled back a step.

"Now who's trying to play games?" Red X said. His voice was cold and emotionless. "I know all about you, Raven, and your powers. They won't work on me." Raven's only response was a snarl from underneath her hood. Her violet eyes peered malevolently from underneath their cover. It was impossible to discern any emotion from his masked face. It was nothing but jet black and blood red, with a pair of inhumanly shaped white eyes staring straight forward.

"Aside from Robin, you're the only one who tries to cover your face…what kinds of secrets do you have to hide?"

"None that you'll ever know." Raven snapped.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Tell me Raven, why do you hate me so much?"

"What a stupid question. You're a psychopath who not only kidnapped Robin, but you tried to kill me and my friends." If he was going to convince any of the Titans trust him, he knew Raven would be the toughest challenge. Naturally, Starfire was the easiest to win over. All he had to do with her was put up with her endless barrage of questions and remind her of when he saved her life. Compared to Raven and Robin, the alien girl was surprisingly good company.

"Don't be so hasty Raven. Don't forget the time I saved Starfire's life. You remember that don't you. Wasn't I the one who stopped Slade's plan?" Raven stepped forward, pulled the hood back, and folded her arms across her chest. For the first time, Red X noticed just how striking the young girl looked.

"Yeah, sure. Is there any proof that both of those weren't just elaborate set-ups? Slade has tried that before"

"Terra. I can understand how that would make one suspicious." Though he had never known the former Titan, he was familiar with her via files that Slade had provided him. Raven appeared taken aback with his admission.

"You have no idea. I have no intention of letting that happen again."

"That reminds me…about your healing my wounds." Red X smiled under his mask, though Raven could not tell if it was legitimate or not.

"Something else I was told to do."

"I wanted to say thank you."

---

"Why do we always get the smelliest jobs?" Beast Boy whined as he peered down into the manhole.

"Because we're the lucky ones, that's why. Now start climbing" Cyborg responded. The two friends were standing outside of the Jump City National Bank, preparing to clamber down the ladder into the fetid depths of the sewer. Beast Boy went down first, complaining the entire way, with Cyborg following close behind. Aside from a few scattered construction lights, there was a permeating darkness that seemed to cling to the flesh. Beast Boy kept feeling the need to wipe something off his body, though there was nothing there.

"Dude, we are so not gonna find anything down here."

"Don't be so sure, BB, take a look at this." Cyborg leaned down to the ground, and focused his shoulder lamp on what looked to be a footprint. It looked human enough, but what was strange about it was the larger than normal size, and the fact that the foot appeared to have claws.

"That's just a little creepy, man. You sure we just can't turn around and tell Robin we didn't find anything?" Beast Boy turned around and began making his way back up the ladder.

"I don't think so. We are gonna find who made this print." Cyborg reached back and yanked his cowardly friend down from his perch.

"Don't you watch television Cy? There are alligators in the sewer! Gigantic monsters that like to eat handsome young shape shifters like me."   
"That's a load and you know it." Using Cyborg's shoulder lamp as a guide, the pair cautiously strode down the small stone walkway on the side of the water flow. Out of the corner of his eye, Beast Boy saw something swim by in the water.

"Did you see that?" He said frantically. Cyborg whipped around and jabbed a finger right in his partner's green face.

"I swear if you mention alligators in the sewer one more time, I will leave you down here." Beast Boy's jaw dropped to the ground, and he flailed his arms around. Only stutters escaped his lips when he tried to talk. "I've had about enough of this…

"There's truth to every legend." Came a deep gravely voice from directly behind Cyborg. Cyborg whipped around to meet the voice, but before he could do anything, he was lifted off the ground and hurled headlong through the stone wall. The creature turned to face the quivering Beast Boy. Whatever it was, it must have been seven feet tall, with grayish scale-like skin and a face that would make a lizard puke.

"W-who are you?" Beast Boy stammered.

"The name's Killer Kroc, and it's the last name you'll ever hear." Kroc bull rushed Beast Boy, who barely dodged the monster by transforming into a rat. Dislodging himself from the wall, Kroc pivoted and charged again, forcing a gorilla shaped Beast Boy backwards. The two jockeyed for position, but Killer Kroc proved to be the stronger, forcing Beast Boy's head down to the water's edge. A blast from the recovered Cyborg's sonic cannon knocked Kroc backwards.

"I've got an idea, get him into the water!" Cyborg shouted.

"Of course, would you like me to wrap him up too?" Kroc roared in rage and barreled forward, but at the last second Beast Boy transformed into a kangaroo, flopped backwards, and used Kroc's momentum to hurl him into the water.

"Idiot!" Kroc bellowed. "The water is my element."

'Not for long sucker." Cyborg leveled his sonic cannon at the water and let loose a bull powered blast. It struck Kroc square in the chest and the stunned monster fell backwards underneath the water. Before he could rise up again, Cyborg fired again, and within a few seconds, Kroc's limp body floated face down back to the surface.

"What did you do?" Beast Boy asked, pitching a small stone at the unconscious villain.

"The water amplified my sonic waves, and thankfully it was enough. I was afraid it wouldn't be."

"Well, try to be sure next time, okay?"


	21. The Quarry

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

"Robin, do you have any idea what we are searching for?" Starfire asked as she stared out across the vast expanse of the quarry. Desolate was not a strong enough word to describe how empty the mine seemed. It had been abandoned many years ago when all the veins of ore ran out. All that revealed its former use was a few scattered pieces of broken down machinery, along with random mounds of dirt and stone. The sun had already begun to set, and the darkness was fast approaching. Winds howled over the excavated mountain side and down through the forsaken valley. Starfire did not like being there at all, but it wasn't the darkness that un-nerved the alien girl, it was the sheer sense of isolation. Out of all the things she had combated in her life, being alone in the world was never something she could cope with.

"Not a clue." It was not something that Robin liked to admit, but in this case it was unfortunately true. He had seen hundreds of similar cases, nothing but questions and dead ends, and he had seen them through to the end, and he was determined to see this one through as well. There was absolutely no way he would let Red X have the pleasure of knowing that the Titans were even partially in his debt. He would solve this mystery and catch whom-ever was responsible. Any advantage that he had over his rival was a good advantage. In the back of his mind, there was an inkling of thought that suspected that X himself was somehow responsible for all of this.

"This place gives me the…what are they called? The "Willies" Starfire wrapped her arms around her body and shivered.

"I know what you mean. Let's get this over with." The pair crept through the quarry as silently as they could; unwittingly looking over their shoulders every couple of seconds, just to make sure nothing was behind them. After a half hour of searching, they found nothing, not even a single footprint aside from their own. That is, until Starfire felt something sticking to her boot. She stopped and knelt down to scrape the goo off, but no amount of brushing could remove it.

"What's the matter Starfire?"

"Something has become attached to my boot and it will not come off." As if on command, the mud sloughed from her boot and fell to the ground with a splat. But it didn't stop there. From all around Robin and Starfire, small globs of mud oozed across the ground and joined together into a rapidly growing mass before them. To their shock, legs began to form, then a torso, then the arms, and finally a sinister face grew out of the mass. The answer to part of the riddle became all to clear to Robin.

"Clayface…I should have guessed."

"Just two kids? This'll be a piece of cake." The monster rumbled with laughter.

"I assure you, man of clay, that we are a lot tougher than we look." Starfire let loose with a starbolt that blew a hole right in the center of Clayface's chest. The monster rumbled with laughter again and re-formed his body. Before Starfire could react, the villain lunged forward, and engulfed Starfire in a flood of clay. Robin launched a ferocious assault with his bo-staff, first severing the arm that was holding Starfire, and then lashing wildly at Clayface's body with little effect. With one swipe of Clayface's arm, Robin was unceremoniously knocked aside. Rolling with the blow, Robin kipped up and hurled a series of explosives at his foe, sending blobs of clay flying. Clayface was stunned, but not much more. Starfire freed herself from her prison of clay with one powerful starbolt, and began her own assault, firing bolt after bolt into the mass of Clayface's body.

"Keep him off balance!" Robin screamed "Hit him with everything you got." Under the withering barrage, Clayface began striking out at random. One lucky glob caught Starfire, who crashed hard into the ground. Having recovered, Clayface shambled over the Tamarainian's prone body and raised a clay axe high above his head. Before he could strike a blow, Robin dashed forward and leapt onto Clayface's body. Reaching down to his utility belt, he took another explosive device and stuffed it deep into the monster's torso before back flipping to safety. Clayface frantically pawed at himself in an attempt to locate the device, but he was not quick enough. The blast destroyed his entire upper body, showering the area with clay. Robin helped Starfire back to her feet.

"We have to find a way to contain him" Even as he spoke; Clayface had already begun reforming himself. "Keep him occupied, I've got a plan." Starfire nodded an affirmative and Robin took off into another part of the quarry. She turned to face to square off with the now fully formed Clayface.

"Looks like your friend abandoned you, sweetheart." Clayface boomed.

'You are wrong, fiend. Robin would never desert a friend." Starfire floated into the air and strafed the monster with starbolts, while at the same time dodged the chunks of clay that he hurled at her. Fortunately, the alien proved too agile for the monster's aim. Encompassed in his attempts to ground the flying girl, Clayface did not hear the steadily increasing rumble approaching from behind. Robin sat behind the wheel of a gigantic earth mover, its plow raised in the air. At last, Clayface took notice of the noise and pivoted around to face it, but he was too late. With a simple pull of a lever, Robin brought the plow down over the monster, trapping him. Hefting a massive boulder over her head, Starfire placed it on top of the plow, completing Clayface's makeshift prison.

"That should hold him until the cops arrive." Robin sighed, dusting off his hands. Starfire floated down to the ground next to Robin.

"We have captured the villain, should we not celebrate?"

"No, Starfire. I have a feeling we are far from finished."

---

"As unexpected as that is, don't think for a second that you saying "thank you" changes anything." Raven warned.

"Ever the unwavering stoic." Red X laughed. "As much as you would deny it, you and I have a lot in common"

"Don't feed me that." Raven snorted. "There's nothing similar between you and I."

"Oh really? Just look at you. You can't tell me that no-one has ever laughed at you or mocked you for the way you dress or for the way you act, and that includes your friends." Raven opened her mouth to respond, but had found nothing to say. For a fleeting moment, she found she could not keep his gaze, and turned her head to avoid it. Her sudden change in demeanor did not go unnoticed.

"Imagine how I feel, unable to even go out into public without being hunted at every turn. At least you have someone to call friend…any chance I had for that disappeared a long time ago. There's a heart inside me, just like I know there's one inside you, Raven"

"I...I don't know what to say." Raven stammered, quickly pulling her hood back over her head. Before she could speak again, her communicator came to life, snapping her out of her funk.

"What's going on?' She said into the communicator.

"We've got some good news. Report to the living room, pronto." Was Robin's crackled reply. Raven glanced one more time at Red X before turning on her heels and leaving the cell.


	22. Battle for City Hall

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

"Since you're all back in one piece, I'll take it that you won." Raven announced as she entered the Titan's main room.

"Good guess. How did your chit-chat with Red X go?" After what Red X had tried to do to him earlier, Robin couldn't help but be concerned with how he treated Raven. Nothing that man did was denied any kind of rational thought. First he kidnaps Robin, and then he saves Starfire's life. Then he steals a dangerous weapon, only to stop it from being used. Now he comes to Titan Tower seeking membership in the Titans, and he spent every second of their talk attempting to get inside his head. Whoever was under that mask, he must have one severe case of schizophrenia. And speaking of the mask, each and every one of the Titans were dying to find out the identity of their mysterious guest. It would have been simple to unmask him when he was unconscious and take a quick peek, but Robin's sense of honor would not permit something like that. None of the Titans had ever questioned his choice to keep his mask on at all times, and he was more than willing to wait until Red X decided that he would unveil himself, if ever.

"It was interesting, and let's leave it at that, okay?" Raven sounded like she was in no mood to elaborate. She quickly changed the subject. "What did you guys find out?"

"An enemy from my past called Clayface." Robin said. "Why he's in Jump City, I have no clue."

"We fought some alligator man that I've never seen before." Cyborg explained. "Deadly sucker too, nearly offed both of us."

"Killer Kroc." Robin mumbled loud enough for Cyborg to hear.

"You know him?"

"Yet another crook expanding his territory. I'm starting to sense a pattern here."

"But that still leaves one bank robber unaccounted for." Cyborg mused. With nothing to add to the conversation Beast Boy flopped down onto the couch. He grabbed the remote control and turned on the television.

"And unfortunately, we have nothing more to go on. We'll just have to sit tight and see what develops." Flipping through the channel mindlessly, Beast Boy stopped his surfing on a local new channel, hoping that the Titans latest heroic exploits made it onto the program. What he saw was not what he hoped, in fact, it was something that he honestly didn't believe. He pivoted on the couch to face his friends

"Uh…guys, you might want to take a look at this." He said, pointing a finger towards the screen.

"…do not attempt to adjust the picture on your screen, for the image you see is real." Spoke the New Show's Anchor. "At exactly noon today, the super-villain known as Mr. Freeze appeared outside of City Hall. Using what appears to be a massive ice cannon, he has encased the entire building in ice, trapping all of the occupants. Soon after he gave this ultimatum." With that, the picture switched to a recorded video of Mr. Freeze standing atop a cannon shouting to the gather onlookers.

"Attention denizens of Jump City, unless the heroes known as the Teen Titans agree to face me, I shall commit all of the officials in this building to an icy doom."

"I think we just found our lead. Titans Go!

---

Within minutes, the Titans arrived just outside City Hall, where the Jump City Police Department had set up a barricade around the structure. Robin approached the Chief of Police and addressed him directly.

"Any new developments?"

"Not a single one. He only made that one statement and hasn't spoken or moved since. He's just standing there like a statue." The Chief explained, peering over his squad car at the scene.

"Alright Titans, looks like we don't have much of a choice. Let's go." Robin announced. He strode right around the blockade of cars, the rest of the Titans following close behind, and stopped right in Mr. Freeze's line of sight. The villain looked down and studied the young Titan with a piercing glare.

"You got your wish, Freeze, here we are." Robin said.

"Then prepare to feel the frigid chill of death in your bones." Freeze leveled his ice ray at the team and fired, sending them scattering. Starfire and Raven simultaneously took to the sky and unleashed a combined attack at Freeze, forcing him backwards.

"Face it Freeze, you can't beat us all!" Robin shouted.

"Foolish whelp, I have not come unprepared for you." Mr. Freeze activated a stud on his gauntlets. A chorus of clanking noises reverberated from inside the building, and out marched an army of monstrous snowman, some on legs, some with treads, all of them heavily armed. "Destroy them!' Freeze yelled. The army rumbled forward to engage the Titans, who responded in the same. Starfire barreled straight into the enemy force, blasting everything that moved with her Starbolts, with Beast Boy in rhino form trampling over anything that survived the Tamarainian's onslaught.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Raven levitated several of the police cars and sent them hurtling into a column of the killer snowmen, smashing them to bits. Cyborg raked his sonic gun back and forth over the snowmen, but it didn't seem like they made any headway against the horde.

"These damn things just keep coming." Cyborg growled, blasting another snowman who was trying to cleave into him with an ice pick. Robin was leaping from snowman to snowman, using his fighting staff to deactivate each one. One snowman took aim with a shovel, but Robin ducked at the last second and jammed his Bo straight through the robot's chest. Sparks showered the ground before the thing exploded. Through sheer numbers, the snowmen managed to force the Titans into a corner, although they were all still blasting away with everything they had.

"We have to take out that gun! The hostages won't last forever." Robin called over the din of the battle, before decapitating another snowman with a spin-kick. "Raven, I want you to overload the gun's circuits; the rest of us will provide cover." With one swift motion, Robin whipped several of his projectiles into the wall of robots, clearing a small path. Raven took off through the army, explosions caused by her teammates erupting on all sides. Beast Boy plowed into one group as a gorilla knocking snowmen aside left and right. Cyborg tore a lamppost from the ground and swung it in wide arcs like a baseball bat, whilst constants rays of green energy poured from Starfire's eyes and hands. Raven finally reached the machine, and concentrated all of her power on it.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Crackling black energy enveloped the ray, and within seconds it began to split apart at the seams. It took just one more mental push from Raven to send the machine into overload. It exploded in a brilliant flash of light, accompanied by a wave of freezing cold air. In the sudden confusion, Robin bolted forward and attacked Mr. Freeze, knocking the freeze ray from his hand. Freeze lunged forward, but Robin avoided his lumbering blow and tripped him with his staff. When Freeze looked up, he found himself staring at the gathered team.

"Give it up Freeze. The fight is over." The villain made tried to sit up, but changed his mind in mid move and slumped back down to the ground. He reached to his gauntlet again hit another stud on it, stopping the remainder of the snowmen in their tracks. The police rushed forward and took Freeze into custody.

"Another bunch of criminals meet their match in the Teen Titans." Beast Boy boasted, puffing his chest out in pride. "It's party time!"

---

Deep in the bowels of Titan Tower, Red X laughed silently to himself.

"Enjoy your victory while you still can Titans…the final battle will soon begin."


	23. Tragedy on Teen Titan Day

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

"You have my congratulations, Starfire. From what I hear, you and the rest of the Titans defeated Mr. Freeze quite handily." Red X cooed.

"Yes Mr. X, it was a most glorious victory." Starfire was beaming ear to ear. She didn't care what the rest of her friends thought about the sinister Red X; she personally enjoyed venturing down to the holding area and chatting with him. He was always so nice to her that it was hard for the alien to fathom that this was the man who had kidnapped Robin so long ago. Aside from Robin, she was the only one who ever came down to talk to him anymore. Cyborg had no reason too, and Beast Boy was still a little too "freaked" about him. Raven said she had an interesting conversation with him, but whenever they mention him, she would shy away from any conversation. Well…she would shy away more than usual. Red X's next question seemed to be culled straight from Starfire's thoughts

"So tell me Starfire, how do the other feel about me?" He asked. "You know you're the only one I can trust to be honest about this." She went over each and every Titan one by one, with Red X nodding in acknowledgement after each separate explanation. Aside from Raven, their reactions still did not surprise him at all. What did surprise him that Robin did not yet come down to gloat about his perceived victory without the aid of his captor. Like Red X himself, Robin seemed very much the competitive type.

"And of course, I have to ask how your opinion of me as well, not ignoring how friendly you've been to me since I came here."

"I find you most friendly indeed." She smiled at him. It was no wonder why the young girl was so popular; her smiles were so warm she could melt ice with them. Though he wasn't totally sure he wanted to admit it, Starfire's visits were the highlight of his stay in Titan Tower so far. She was just so exuberant, that his moods couldn't help but be lifted whenever she would float in.

"I'm glad to hear that Starfire, the thing I need most right now is a friend that I can trust." Red X returned the Tamarainian's smile, although it would have been hard to notice under his face-mask. "But I am intrigued… why does Raven act so strange when you mention me?" Starfire eyes trailed up to the ceiling as she thought.

"That I truly do not know. She is not one to reveal her feelings." She finally said with a shrug of her shoulders. I should have guessed Red X thought to himself. Starfire continued talking, clapping her hands together in joy apparently. "I do have good news, though. We are too be honored at Jump City Stadium for saving the Hall of the City."

"That's great. Will all of you be there?"

"No, Robin has agreed to stay here and keep watch."

"I see. I have to warn you, Starfire. I do not think this is a good idea." A confused look appeared on the alien girl's face.

"Why not?"

"I just have a bad feeling about this. If you're going to go, keep your eyes open and be careful, okay?" Starfire's confused look disappeared and was replaced by another one of her vibrant smiles.

"You are beginning to sound like Robin. Do not worry; we shall all be very careful." Starfire assured him. Her communicator beeped, and she answered it. A minute later, she informed Red X that it was time for them to go, so she had to say goodbye for now.

---

It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining bright in the sky, it was as pleasantly warm with a nice cooling breeze, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. According to the schedule given to the Titans by Jump City's mayor, the event would a grand spectacle. They would be driven into the stadium on a huge float into the center of the stadium, which was already packed with thousands of screaming fans. After that, the mayor would drive out in his personal car and award them the key to the city in thanks for all that they have done for Jump City's populace. He would even go as far as naming that day "Teen Titan Day." Three of the five Titans were thrilled at all the adulation, it amused Starfire to the point that she could not keep still under any circumstances. In her excitement she neglected to mention any of Red X's warning to her friends, and even if she had remembered too, she would have most likely written it off as him being worrisome like Robin was. Raven was none to pleased to be out in the middle of a football field in the middle of the day surrounded by faces, but the other Titans were convinced to bring her along. There was no way she could disagree when they literally carried her to the motorcade. Robin told them that he wanted to attend with them, but someone had to stay at Titan Tower to keep watch over the rest of the City. It was a lie, but one that he wasn't afraid to use. The notion of gloating to Red X had crossed his mind, but he inevitably decided to be professional and not try to egg the captive villain on. At that point he was sitting in the Titan's control room, watching the procession on one of the huge Television screens.

"It's an amazing Teen Titans Day, here at Jump City Stadium." The familiar News Announcer said, motioning first at the sky above, and then at the screaming throng of fans. "And an even more amazing crowd here to thank them for their efforts." The camera panned for several minutes over the crowd, many of whom were dressed as their favorite Titan or carrying signs. In the background, the giant floating carrying the Titans finally came into sight, accompanied by a roar from the crowd.

"We can see the float coming in now. If you'll look closely, you'll notice only four Titans waving to the crowd. Their leader, the legendary Boy Wonder, Robin, had to stay back at Titan Tower in the interest of security. I'd like to send the City's thanks out to him." Robin found himself grinning. Deep down he did want to be out there with the rest of his friends, but something didn't seem right about the situation. The next thing the announcer said quickly ruined his good mood.

"What are those blimps doing? I don't recall them being on the list, it must be a surprise for the Titans." The next few moments were a blur to Robin. Via the camera, he watched to blimps lazily float to the center of the stadium. He watched in horror as billowing green smoke started to pour from each of the blimps, blanketing the entire stadium. When the wind finally blew away the smoke, something else was missing.

"The Teen Titans are missing! Someone has kidnapped the Teen Titans" screamed the news anchor. In his rush to move, Robin toppled over in his chair. He raced all the way down the stairs to the holding chamber, and nearly kicked the door off its hinges.

"RED X!" Robin bellowed. "Tell me everything you know, NOW!"

"I had a feeling you'd be back ." Red X snickered.


	24. Redemption Part One

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 24: Redemption, Part 1

"Now is not the time to fuck around with me, X. Spill it!" Robin bellowed. It wasn't like him to curse, but he was in no mood for any of Red X's petty mind games.

"I don't think so Robin. If we're gonna play a game, then we're gonna play by my rules." Red X spat back, his voice dripping with venom. "If you want to get your friend back, you're gonna have to swallow your god-forsaken pride and trust me."

"I'm not falling for any of your tricks. You know far too much for this to be a coincidence."

'Don't you get it, Robin? Our fight is over, the Titans won and I lost." Red X pleaded, with urgency overriding the venom in his voice. "I'm giving you a chance to save your…our…friends, so get off your high horse and trust me. We don't have much time!" Robin's mind tossed and turned, examining the situation with from every conceivable angle. There were a million possible solutions for this scenario, and not many of them had a happy ending. There was no doubting that the word "trap" was scrawled all over this mess in huge bold letters. He could chance trying to find his friends on his own, or he could free Red X and pray that this wasn't just a massive set-up. It pained him that the fate of his friends lay in the hands of a psychopath. The fact that Starfire seemed to have taken a shine to the lunatic didn't help Robin either. The poor girl was so naïve and so trusting that she couldn't help herself, and he feared that Red X had simply manipulated the Tamarainian. He had even gotten to Raven somehow, a feat which Robin was still trying to figure out. Despite his mental turmoil, he knew time was running out, and that he had to make some kind of decision. He chose the only one he could.

"I guess I don't have any other choice." Robin admitted. Without another word Robin leaned forward and keyed the release code into the restraints. They opened with a metallic hiss, and Red X dropped to his feet on the floor. "Okay X, the ball is in your court. What do we do now?"

"All you have to do is follow me." Red X said, rubbing away the lingering soreness in his wrists.

"That's fine by me, but I just have one question for you."

"Oh yeah? And what might that be?"

"How do you know all this?" Robin asked. Red X simply laughed.

"It's a long story. Ask me again later."

"Fair enough, but don't you think for a second that I'm gonna let you off the hook. Let's move you."

"Right." The fledgling partners dashed out of the holding cell and out towards the main entrance. As they went, Red X uttered something under his breath, hopefully out of Robin's earshot.

"Titans, Go!"

-

Robin could not put into words how he felt traveling throughout Jump City with Red X leading the way. In order to save his friends, he had to put all of his faith into a man that had been a thorn in the Titan's side for a long time. The whole ordeal brought a horde of un-pleasant memories to the forefront of his mind. As the pair traversed the rooftops, Robin's mind could not help but wander back to everything that Red X and the Titans had been through in the past couple of months. Even the kidnapping, which he had shoved to the back of his recollection, burst back to mind so fresh that it could have happened the day before. Like the sky above and the streets below, everything was a blur to Robin. There was almost nothing he would have given to be able to read Red X's thoughts, if only for a matter of seconds. He had created the Red X persona solely in an attempt to get close to Slade. In the end, Slade saw through his disguise and all that he had ultimately accomplished was to alienate his friends, and stretch their trust in him to the brink. And then out of nowhere, Red X, a character straight out of his own mind, appeared to torment the Teen Titans. Red X seemed to personify everything negative about Robin, but at the same time, there was always something intangible lurking beneath the surface. Was Red X nothing more than a manifestation of the dark side of Robin's psyche? Or was he something more? They were so different, and yet at the same time, so disturbingly alike. Robin's mind was so wrapped up in it's thoughts that he didn't even pay attention to where he was going. Like a finely tuned machine, his body blindly followed Red X's lead. He had no earthly clue where he was going, that is, until Red X motioned for him to halt. It was a trip that alternated between feeling like it took endless hours, and feeling like it was only fleeting seconds.

"Where are we?" Robin asked. Perched on the building's ledge like a cat, Red X turned and pointed down at a huge factory.

"The Titan's are being held in that building." Red X stated matter of factly. Robin surveyed the structure with his binoculars. Nothing seemed out of place.

"We can break in through those skylights there, and get the drop on whoever's inside." Robin said. Somewhat to his surprise, Red X agreed with him. Before moving out, the two partners looked at each other, and nodded once. Within moments, the sound of smashing glass signaled their entrance. The room was too dark for either person to make heads or tails of anything. Robin removed a flashlight from his belt and switched it on.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Robin." Red X answered, doing the same thing with his own flashlight. Something seemed out of place to Robin, something that he could not yet put his finger on.

"What kind of factory is this?" Robin mumbled aloud, more to himself than to anyone else. As if on cue, the factory's lights flared on, momentarily blinding the partners. Robin regained his vision, though when he finally got a good look at his surroundings, he wished he hadn't. To his horror, all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. The other villains working in coordination, the blimps and the knockout gas, the grandstand kidnapping, and the fact that he and Red X were standing in the center of an abandoned toy factory made everything all to clear to the young detective. The icing on the poisonous cake came in the form of a all-to-familiar voice shouting from one end of the factory.

"Good Evening kiddies! I'm so glad you could make it to my little party. Now that the gang's all here, the fun can really begin! Hee hee hee."

"Oh god…not you…"


	25. Redemption Part Two

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 25: Redemption: Part 2

"What's the matter, kiddies, aren't you happy to see your dear old uncle J?"

"Where are my friends, Joker?" The Joker was the most dangerous criminal in all of Gotham City, a psychopathic murderer who came closer to dealing the killing joke to Batman more times than any other enemy. No matter how many times he was defeated, he would always come back smarter and more deadly than he was before. Just like Slade. No attempts to reform or imprison him were ever successful. What was strange was that the Joker rarely ventured outside of Gotham for long. It made no sense to Robin what would possess the lunatic to come to Jump City.

"They're just hanging around." The Joker pulled a remote control from his jacket and held it above his head. Robin craned his neck upwards, and to his surprise saw his friends hung upside down from the ceiling. They were all still unconscious.

"I swear to god Joker, if you hurt them…." Robin began to advance toward Joker, but before he could get anywhere he was halted by Red X.

"What are you doing back in Jump City, Joker?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking over!"

"Over my dead body!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs.

"If you insist. HA HA HA!" Joker hit another button on the controller. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Everyone stood in rapt silence. Robin and Red X stood in the center of the factory, with the Joker staring malevolently down at them from a scaffolding at one end of the building. Time seemed to slow down. Then it happened. At first there was just a noise, a low humming emanating from all sides. The sound was coming from several of the towering wooden crates that lined the walls of the factory.

"This can't be good…" Robin murmured to Red X. The humming grew louder with each passing second. Four of the crates exploded, showering from the floor with millions of splinters. Where each box was, now stood a gigantic robot, the Joker's sick grin painted on each individual metal face.

"Now those are what I call real Titans!' Joker cackled from his perch. Without delay, the two partners leapt into action. Robin fired his grappling hook into one robot's head, and swung himself up onto its shoulders. The clanking levitation rigidly attempted to swat him away, but the young Titan proved far too agile a target. Robin quickly circled around the robot's neck, planting a string of explosives before swinging back down to the floor. The robot lumbered after him, totally unaware of what was shortly in store for it. The explosives went off quickly after another, removing its head from the rest of its body. The remaining bulk of its body stumbled forward one last step before coming crashing down to the ground. The second robot was trying to squash Red X, who was dodging back and forth through its legs. Every time he could get a clear shot at the robot's face, he would unleash a volley of his X Glue. Its optical sensors severely impaired, the robot's swings grew increasingly wilder. Red X goaded the mechanical monstrosity to follow him directly into the path of another robot, which it proceeded to strike with all its might. The second robot, facing a new threat, returned the blow, and within a few minutes the pair had reduced each other to scrap metal. That left two remaining. The fourth robot turned its attention to Red X. Using the distraction to his advantage, Robin scaled up the robot's back, searching for some kind of opening. He found it at the base of it's metallic neck. Robin jammed his Bo-staff into the hatch and pried it open, revealing a web of circuits and gears inside. Without the least bit of subtlety, Robin tore at the machine's innards, tearing out whatever would give to his grasp. Sparks flew all around him, but he didn't notice, let alone notice. Its systems steadily failing, the robot turned sluggish. Robin tossed his last explosive into the hatch and tumbled away. The explosion rocked the robot, and it pitched to the side, slamming into the side wall of the factory. One automaton remained. It was by far the largest of the group, and it was the last thing that stood between the heroes and the Joker. For a brief second, Robin and Red X met each other's gaze, and somehow, they both understood what the other was thinking. They charged forward, one on each side of the humongous machine. Swinging in a wide arc, the robot slammed both of its fists into the floor, and at that moment the partners separately jumped up onto its arms, Robin on the right, and Red X on the left. They ran straight up the arms and launched a simultaneous flying kick, connecting solid with the Robot's head with a thunderous clang. The machine tottered backward, directly toward the scaffolding on which the Joker stood. With a stunned look replacing his usual grin, the villain tried to escape, but he couldn't move fast enough. The robot crashed into the scaffold, destroying it and sending the Joker sprawling to the floor below. He opened his eyes, he found himself lying prone at the feet of the two partners. He slumped right back down to the ground in defeat. Robin knelt down and picked up the remote control, and had the rest of the Titans slowly lowered down the floor within a matter of minutes. All it took was some liberal use of smelling salts to revive his friends from their chemically induced stupor. None of them had the slightest clue where they were, or of what had happened to them. As they recovered, Robin filled them in with all the important details.

"I can't believe we got captured so easily." Cyborg groaned, rubbing his throbbing cranium.

"Did anyone else dream about evil clowns?" Beast Boy asked, to a chorus of negatives.

"There's nothing to worry about anymore." Robin assured his friends. "Red X and I captured the crook that was behind all of this." He motioned toward the now tied up Joker, who was still lying on the floor.

"Who is this clown who is not nice? Are not clowns supposed to be bringers of joy?" Starfire asked.

"Not this particular one. I've dealt with him before." Robin said, before turning to face Red X. There was one question that he had to ask. "How did you know about the Joker?"

"Back when I was working with Slade, he had found out that the Joker was hiding in Jump City until the search for him in Gotham died down. Slade had a message to the Joker suggesting a partnership, but before anything could come of it, Joker was recaptured and sent back to Arkham. I suppose Joker found out about Slade's disappearance and decided to expand his territory" Red X explained.

"Dude, but how did you know he would be here?" Beast Boy interjected.

"I was the one who tracked him here to deliver Slade's message. Since Slade wasn't around anymore, the Joker felt it would be safe to return to his old hideout. We were lucky my hunch paid off."

"We owe you a lot, X. Without your help, I couldn't have done this." Robin admitted. "I think there's only one thing I can say to you."

"And what's that?" Red X asked. Robin smiled, and held out his hand.

"Welcome to the Teen Titans."

The End

A/N - Well, that's it. I never thought this story would be as successful as it has, and I owe that to my faithful readers. Consider this to be a hiatus more than anything, while I come up with how I want the story and the characters to develop from this point on. I have a few ideas, but not enough to justify continuing. Any suggestions are welcome. Once again thanks not only for reading, but for sticking with it the entire way.


	26. Teen Titan Red X

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

It wasn't long before Red X found that life with the Titans was a lot more interesting than he expected it to be. The Tower was only a few degrees away from being legally classifiable as a lunatic asylum. Even when there were no super-villains to take down, something was always going on. Between Beast Boy's pranks and insistence on eating endless amounts of Tofu, Cyborg's fanatic videogame competition with anyone who would play against him and Starfire's daily attempts at making frightening meals from her home planet and feeding them to her friends, life was never dull. Although Robin did join in on the fun from time to time, he spent a huge amount of the day either training by himself or scanning the city for the slightest hint of criminal activity. Watching and participating in Robin's grueling training sessions made it all too clear how Robin could go toe to toe with the likes of Slade. Whenever he practiced, he would go all out, even during the simplest of exercises. Pushing his body to the limit was an understatement. And then there was Raven. Out of all the Titans, she was by far the most distant. It was so hard to strike up any sort of casual conversation with her that her friends rarely attempted to do so, unless she appeared to be in the mood to be social, which wasn't often. More often than not, if she wanted to speak with someone, she would be the one to start it. There was something mysterious about the girl that intrigued Red X. No matter how he tried, he couldn't explain the aura that seemed to surround her.

Despite the fact that Red X proved himself in the eyes of the Titans, it was still very strange getting used to living with them as equals. He was given his own room, access to almost all of the files in the criminal database, and free range to go about the Tower. To Red X's surprise, his newfound friends already had the utmost trust in him. It had been about a month since Joker had been defeated. There were a few robberies and a Slade sighting, but aside from that, not much had happened. Red X had to admit that the Titan's mere presence did wonders to curb crime in Jump City, let alone what their crime-fighting skills accomplished. He didn't mind following Robin's orders, especially since he had been doing so for as long as he could remember. All that mattered to him was that for the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. He had a place to call home, three meals a day, nobody to boss him around, and most importantly, a bunch of friends who not only trusted him, but treated him as an equal.

Red X was standing by himself in his room, just staring at his surroundings and letting everything sink in. It was something that he found himself doing a lot more lately. It was all too good to be true, just like a dream that he was afraid he would wake up from. There was nothing fancy about his new home. In one corner there was a bed with sheets and a pillow. On the other side of the room sat a desk with a single chair. He had a empty closet, shelves with a few odds and ends adorning them, and a tall armoire filled with what little extra clothing he had. He had been in each of the other Titan's rooms (except for Raven's of course) and each one was decorated in tune with the style of the person who lived in his. His was barren by comparison, though he was determined that eventually it would become truly his own. Red X strode over to the lone mirror and stared for a few minutes at his masked face.

"This is how they know me." He spoke out loud to his reflection, drawing a hand across the familiar mask. "But this is not who I really am." Digging his fingers under his chin, Red X removed his mask in one slow, deliberate motion. Once more he stared at his reflection in the mirror, studying the face that only he recognized. In the past few weeks, there were a number of times that he wanted to reveal his true face to the Titans, but each and every time, he would stop himself short. There was so much they didn't know about him, so much that he wanted to tell them. Out of all that his mind could conjure up, his biggest fear was that he would one day finally tell the entire truth and that despite all of the kindness they have shown towards him, the Titans would reject him. Red X balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down hard on the desktop.

"Why do things have to be this way?" He asked his reflection. "Why must I always hide everything?" Red X's musings were interrupted by a loud knocking on his closed door. He slipped his mask back on before calling for the person to enter. It was Robin.

'Is there something I can do for you?" It was somewhat unusual for Robin to go knocking on people's doors without having something important to either ask or say. Robin did not enter the room very far, instead choosing to stand just inside of the doorway.

"No, I just wanted to remind you that it's your turn for first patrol tonight." Speaking of things that had taken a while to get used to, patrolling the city for criminal acts was definitely at the top of the list. It felt a little strange wandering around the city trying to find crime so you could put a stop to it, instead of wandering the city looking for crimes to commit. It was all stuff that Red X was more than happy to accept as part of his new life.

"I remember, but thanks for the heads up though." Robin always seemed to be keeping a close eye on him, but that was to be expected. It was his job to make sure everything ran smoothly.

'Just making sure." Robin turned to exit the room, but stopped himself and turned around to face Red X again. "Is everything alright?"

"I was just doing some thinking."

"I'll leave you alone with your thoughts then." Robin said with a smile, before walking out of the room.

'Thanks." Red X called after him. It was good to be a Teen Titan.


	27. Patrol

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 27: Patrol

The night was warm and moist, the kind of night that makes your clothes stick to your clothes. Never before had Red X wished more for a costume that didn't cover his entire body. Even his mask felt like it weighed a ton. Patrolling for crime had to be the absolute worst, most boring aspect ever devised in the annals of super hero-dom. For all the good joining the Titans did for him, this was the one job he wished he could shirk. But no matter how much he wanted to stay in and ignore his duties, he would do it every time without complaint. He owed them that much, but by no stretch of the imagination did that mean he had to enjoy it. Far down on the streets below him, the people of Jump City went on with their lives, unaware of the reformed devil keeping watch over them.

"If they only knew…" Red X mumbled to himself. Sometimes an urge would well up from deep inside his gut, one that he had fought off every time it came around. He would not allow himself to return to his old ways. He would rather leap off the ledge of the building and plummet to the city sidewalk than disappoint his newfound friends. Never before had he been accepted into a group of people as not only an equal but as a friend. In the Hive, he was treated with reverence, when all he wanted was to just be part of the time. With Slade, all he turned out to be was nothing more than a pawn in a megalomaniac's twisted scheming. Slade couldn't be dead, another one of his gut feelings told him that much. He had sworn revenge against that son of a bitch, vengeance that was far from being paid. This was only one of several things that kept his existence worthwhile. His relationship with the Titans was the chief of course, but as of let, some other very strange feelings had begun to bubble up to surface. Nowadays Red X had a lot more free time to fill, most of which was spent hanging around Titan Tower, watching TV, reading, or playing video games. He enjoyed hanging out with each of the Titans, but there was one in particular with whom time spent was even more valuable than he would have ever admitted, and that was the one called Raven. There was something intangible about the young Goth that placed itself forever at the forefront of his mind, and as he moved about the city, he found his thoughts wandering back to her more and more. She was so calm, and yet so powerful. She was always in total control of her emotions, just like he wished he could be. Unfortunately, she spent most of her time locked away in her room, poring over giant dusty tomes, or whatever novel she picked up for that week. Often he had tried to tried to strike up a conversation with her, but half the time he couldn't find the right thing to say, and the rest of the time it came out far to awkward to be of any use, except for the few times when he actually succeeded in a friendly repartee, although those were few and far between. Red X's mind drifted back to the first time that she had been ordered to watch over him. She had tried to probe both his mind and his emotions without any success. He didn't blame her for not trusting him, the Titans had an unfortunate history with being betrayed, and she had a history of not having the slightest shred of trust in any new team member. Red X had tried his best to get into Raven's head, but he soon realized that it might not be a place that he wanted to be in. At the same time it was a frightening and confusing place, with just the slightest hint of hope and happiness, which he took as being representative of her friend's impact on her life. In his entire life, he had never met anyone quite like Raven.

'Why can't I stop myself from thinking about her?" Red X wondered aloud. Before he could answer his question, something down on the streets below caught his attention. A red car just screeched down the road, knocking over trash cans and sending motorist and pedestrian alike scrambling for safety. Moments after the red car sped by, a number of police cruiser careened down the corner after the driver, their sirens wailing loudly in the night air.

"Looks like somebody's out for a late-night joy ride." Dashing to the other side of the building, Red X leapt from his rooftop perch across to another rooftop, intent on catching up with the speedster. From building to building he leapt, all the while trying to keep the car chase within eye sight. The thugs had managed to get quite a good lead on the cops, albeit because they didn't seem to care who or what they hit in their desperate flight. After several minutes of running, Red X had managed to position himself directly overhead the criminal's path. Timing was crucial at this point, if he jumped too late and he would splat on the pavement. Jump too early and he would splat on the pavement and then get run over. Squeezing his eyes shut, Red X bounded off the ledge, and plummeted toward the dirty street, the roar of the car's engine rapidly approaching. Feeling the weightlessness of free fall forced him to open his eyes again, just in time to twist into position. With a resounding thud Red X landed feet first on the hood of the car, drew back his fist and drove it through the windshield

"What the hell is that!" the driver screamed, jerking the steering wheel and sending the car swerving back and forth.

"Keep the car steady damn you!" The crook in the passenger seat shouted. He drew a pistol from his jacket and fired wildly at the windshield, and to his relief he saw nothing there after his gun ran out of bullets.

"See, I nailed the bastard, nothing to worry abo…" The passenger's words twisted in screams as a fist tore through the hood of the car, wrapped its fingers around his throat and pulled him bodily outside. After catching another quick glimpse of his attacker, the criminal was hurled to the street and knocked unconscious. The driver resumed both his screaming and his swerving, desperately trying to dislodge the phantom monster on his roof. Red X stuck his head down into the front of the car and fixed his gaze squarely on the driver.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to pull over." He reached down, grabbed the man by the hair and slammed his head into the steering wheel. A single punch then put him out of his misery. Now totally out of control, the car careened right and smashed headlong into the display window of a department store. Red X surveyed the damage. He was injured, but he would surely survive, and now the cops had more than likely already picked up his partner back down the street. In fact, once more he could hear the sounds of sirens growing in the night air. Before he left, he knelt down next to the body of the driver.

"You're lucky I'm one of the good guys now."


	28. Old Friends

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Chapter 28: Old Friends

"Okay, so maybe patrols weren't as boring as I thought they were." Red X huffed. After the car chase, X had stopped two robberies, prevented one mugging and scared the living hell out of a few poor souls. "When it rains, it I pours, I suppose." There were only a few minutes between him, and returning back to Titan Tower for a cup of microwave ramen and his comfy bed. At any second Robin would be ringing his communicator so they could switch places. A few minutes later, the tell-tale beeping sounded from off of his belt. It was like music to his ears.

'This is Red X, what's up?"

"Robin here. I've got some bad news for you."

"Yeah? Let's have it."

"You're gonna have to stay out just a little longer, I just got a report in about a series of messy robberies not far from where you are now. Check'em out before you come back."

'Will do. Red X out." He switched off the communicator. "Asshole. I want to go to bed." That was exactly something the boy wonder would pull. Once he found out a crime had been committed, he couldn't stand to let it go without somebody on the spot within ten minutes. Not that X could really blame Robin for his dedication, for he was the same way sometimes. After a few more grunts, Red X launched himself back out across the rooftops, heading towards the coordinates Robin sent. It didn't take very long for him to reach the scene of the first crime. To be honest, it was more of a disasters area than anything else. There was glass and trash strewn everywhere around the street. Someone had blasted the wall off its foundation, grabbed everything they could, and then dashed off into the alleyways. About a block or two down the street, the same scene was re-created, and once again two more block down after that. Whoever did this was either in a hurry, or had no clue what they were doing. A noise from farther down the street snapped him from his investigation. Scaling a nearby building, he made his way to a point where he was looking directly down at what was causing the noise. He nearly fell off the ledge he was standing on. Not them, anyone but them.

"Hey wanker, what did I tell you about being loud!" Clash shouted at Taffy, who had just launched himself bodily through a shop window.

"Silence. It was your fault last time anyway." Samurai scolded. It was his old Hive Team! He hadn't seen nor heard from any of them since the day that he had finally turned on Slade. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they would return so quickly to crime, though at the same time he felt like he was at the very least partially responsible for their plight. The best way to deal with them would be to go right on down and get in their faces, and try to talk some sense into them, as much good as that would probably do. Still, it would be better than pummeling them senseless, and hauling them off to some dank prison to rot. Hurtling down off the rooftop, Red X sauntered up to the marauding youngsters and made his presence known.

"You kids having fun?" He asked. Samurai was the first to turn and look.

"Master, you have returned!" She said, instantly dropping into a bow. Taffy's face lit up like a Christmas Tree.

"Yay! Mister Red is back! We can all have fun now!"

"Don't be so sure of that Taff. I heard through the grapevine that our fearless leader has become one of those goody-goody junior detectives." Clash sneered. He cleared his throat and hocked a massive gob of spit directly at the ground beneath Red X's feet. "Is that so…boss?"

"Yeah, 'fraid so." X sneered back. He turned to face Taffy and Samurai, neither of whom had moved or spoken again. "I want you to stop; you don't have to do this anymore."

"Last time I checked, you don't give the orders around here anymore." Clash launched a wall of sound at his former leader, but Red X easily hurdled over it. He vaulted forward as soon as he landed, and planted both boots into Clash's chest, sending the punk sprawling backwards into a pile of garbage.

"I don't want to hurt you. Please, listen to me." Clash snarled and sent wave after wave of concussive sound at Red X, forcing him to backpedal. Red X picked up a overflowing trash can and sent it flying towards Clash, who batted it aside with a sound burst. Using the monetary distraction, Red X leapt into the air and came crashing down on top of his former pupil. A quick barrage of X Glue later, and Clash was put out of commission. Hefting the wriggling Clash up on his shoulder, he walked back out to the street to confront his other two friends. They had watched the short fight in stunned silence, and looked to either be ready to leap into combat, or run away screaming down the street.

"Calm down you two, and hear me out. I didn't come here to fight you. You don't have to live like this, I know you can do better. Just cooperate with the police, and I promise you'll all be given clean slates, even this subversive punk." Samurai's gaze went from the ground, to Taffy, to Red X, and finally to the tightly bound bundle on his shoulder.

"We understand. Clash was just bitter that you left without a trace, and refused to listen to any kind of reason. We were so confused that we just went along with him. We have let you down." Her head hung loosely against her chest, and Taffy was on the verge of tears.

'No, don't be like that, you're doing the right thing, and I'm still very proud of you." Taffy bounded forward, and wrapped his arms around Red X, nearly causing him to drop Clash onto the ground.

"If we're good, can we get to come and visit you?'

'Of course you can." The wail of police sirens was steadily growing louder. It was only a matter of minutes before they arrived and spoiled the reunion. "Look, I have to get going, but I will see you again, I promise." Clash had calmed down a great deal by this point, so Red X gently placed him back on the ground. He could see the lights of the approaching police cars in the distance now. He turned to leave, but Samurai called out to him

"Wait!"

"What is it?" The young girl dropped her sword to the ground and dashed forward, wrapping her small arms around his waist and squeezed. Once again, Taffy did the same.

"Goodbye." They said.

'Goodbye." Red X scaled back onto the rooftops, and within a few seconds, he was out of site. As he began to make his way back to Titan Tower, he took one last glimpse back at his students. He had made a decision. No longer could he hide his identity behind this facade, he had to tell somebody. It was high time he shared his secret. Tonight, the mask comes off.


	29. Unmasked

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 29: Unmasked

Red X just couldn't hide his secret anymore. If he kept it hidden any longer, he would surely explode from the anxiety. How should he go about doing it though? Should he just call them all into the living room, and make a big dramatic deal about it? It was certainly his style, but with the way he felt, it just didn't feel right. All the way back to Titan Tower, he mentally beat himself up trying to find the right answer. He had kept the truth buried deep within his psyche for so long, even he had doubts as to what parts of it were true, and what parts were false. Off in the horizon, he could see the giant structure silently keeping watch over Jump City. He was home, but he did not enter just yet. Instead he stood on the roof and stared out towards the bay. The night was clear, so clear that he could neatly pick out every star in the sky. Even the moon was in full bloom, washing everything in low, shimmering light. For once in his life, Red X felt totally at peace. He knew it wouldn't last, so he treasured each and every moment of it. Beneath his feet, the rest of the Titans slept, with the exception of Robin of course, who only slept when his eyes no longer agreed to stay open. There was but one lone spotlight illuminating the rooftop, and a sense of loneliness permeated everything. Red X felt like he was the only person alive in the world.

"Why can't things be easier?" He questioned the night air. "Why can't I just tell them my secret? They've never hidden anything from me, so why should I hide something from them? " Little did Red X know that he was in fact not alone on the roof, and that the interloper was listening intently to his tirade against the darkness. "Why must we all hide our true selves? How do I know what's the right thing to do?"

"We all have secrets that we choose to hide from the world." Not expecting an audible answer to any of his questions, Red X whipped around to meet the voice.

"Whose there?" He asked. To his surprise, Raven stepped out of the shadows, and into the light of the single lamp.

"To answer another one of your questions." She began. "If your heart doesn't tell you to do it, then it's not the right thing." Red X breathed a sigh of relief, the last thing he needed was an impromptu visit from one of the Titan's many enemies.

"Thanks for the words of wisdom, Raven. I could really use some right now." The young Goth was actually clad in her pajamas, instead of her usual cape and bodysuit. It was strange to see her wearing something else other than her costume, in fact, Beast Boy once joked that she slept and even showered while wearing it, just like Robin and his mask. Not that Red X was any different; he never left his room unless he was wearing his own costume. In a way, he was jealous of the Titans who weren't restricted to wearing masks. They could be themselves without worrying about hiding their true face.

'Not a problem. Despite what the others may have told you, I do have emotions." Raven said. Did she just tell a joke? "I thought you're shift ended a long time ago?"

"It did, but Robin kept me out longer to investigate something. What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I came up here to watch the stars for a while before trying again." She folded her arms across her chest and turned her gaze upwards.

'Yeah, it is quite a view, isn't it?" Red X said, though he wasn't looking at the sky.

"Yeah, it's a wonder how peaceful it seems up here at night." It was now or never, Red X told himself.

"Raven, can you keep a secret?" He asked, sounding a lot more sheepish than he hoped. Raven turned to look at Red X again, a strange look on her face. Just for a second, Red X thought that she would either start laughing at him or flat out deny him. Thankfully, her face softened, and there was the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

"That just so happens to be one of my specialties." She said. Red X breathed a sigh of relief, moved his hands to the back of his neck, and in one swift motion, removed the black mask from his head. A look of wide-eyed surprise momentarily replaced the look of serenity on Raven's face. This was definitely not the secret that she had expected him to reveal to her. Red X stood before her, barefaced, a look of hope in his piercing blue eyes. He was young, in his early twenties, which was a lot younger than she would have guessed him to be. There were a few small scars criss-crossing his face, and he was understandably pale-skinned, but he was still handsome none-the-less.

"Why…why show me?" Raven could barely force the words out of her mouth, she was so stunned. Red X smiled, and ran a gloved hand through his wild mop of black hair.

"Because out of all the Titans, for some reason, I felt like I could trust you the most."

"Why not Robin?"

"You'd think that he'd be the obvious choice, but I think you and I have a lot more in common than we realize."

"What do you mean?"

"Deep down, we're both looking for the same thing: acceptance from our friends. For my entire life I've been looking for that, and I've found it here, just like you have. Had it not been for the Titans, you and I both would be outcasts living out on the street or in prison. I took one look at you, Raven, and it hit me." Raven was silent, although both Titans knew the truth was being spoken. For a couple of minutes, the pair just stood quietly, alternating looking at each other and gazing out amongst the starry sky, with the only sound coming from the wind and the waves lashing against the rocks far below them. Almost unconsciously, Red X inched closer and closer to the young girl until he was standing right beside her. Raven was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice. There was something about Red X's eyes that she couldn't stop herself from looking into them, no matter how hard she tried. There was such a calmness to them that belied the tempest that she knew resided deep within him. Why couldn't she stop staring at him? His hand drifted up the small of her back, until it came to rest around her shoulders. Normally, she would have reacted violently, but instead she found herself snuggling her body up against his. She craned her head up to look at his face, just as he looked down at her. Their eyes met, and neither looked away. Ever so slowly their faces slid toward each other through the night air, until their lips met in a long kiss. Several seconds passed by, eventually approaching several minutes. When the kiss finally broke, Raven recoiled in surprise at her own actions, but her fear disappeared when she saw the same look on Red X's face melt into a smile, which she returned. They stayed in the embrace for longer than either cared to count, until Raven was broke the silence.

"Can I ask you just one question?" There was one thing she, just like the rest of the Titans, was burning to know, but once again, just like the rest of the Titans, she was afraid to ask, until now that is.

'Of course you can."

"Who are you?"

"Do you really want to know?" Raven nodded her head. "My name is Jericho Wilson. Slade is my father."


	30. Sins of the Father

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Chapter 30: Like Father, Like Son

"Slade…is your…what?" Raven stuttered. Between their sudden kiss and this revelation, her mind spun in circles faster than she could cope with. She even staggered back a few feet.

"You heard right, Slade is my father."

"But…how is that possible?" There was no stopping now, if he didn't reveal everything to her now, he would never get this chance again.

"It's a long story Raven, are you sure you want to hear it all?" Red X didn't want to overburden the poor girl with his pathetic tale. Raven turned her back on Red X and once again gazed back out at the starry horizon. In her heart, she knew how bad it felt to have something eating away at your insides and not knowing whether or not you should let your friends in on it. She had gone through the same thing with the Titans and her own familial heritage, but in her case, it wasn't until Beast Boy and Cyborg were nearly killed by a manifestation of Trigon in her skull that she decided to let the Titans in on her own secret. Why did he decide to tell her? Why did he kiss her? She tried to tell herself that she didn't enjoy it, but there was no way she could deny it. She had wanted it just as badly as he did. When he turned on Slade…turned on his father and came to repent and fight alongside the Titans, she had hated him from the moment she first saw him. So blinded by rage from the past was she that the thought of trying to get to know him never even entered her mind. It wasn't until Robin forced her to probe his mind with her powers that she realized there was something other than evil living underneath the black mask. The attitude, the sarcasm, everything was just his outside shell, a cover-up to hide the heart and soul that resided beneath his skin. Red X wasn't just a sinister machine bent on destroying the Titans, he was a human being.

"Yes…Jericho, I do." Raven finally responded. Red X deeply exhaled and tucked his mask inside his belt. He plopped to the ground and let his feet dangle off the roof of the Tower.

"Have you ever wondered why Slade is so obsessed with finding an apprentice?" Red X asked.

"Yeah, that question has been brought up once or twice."

"Well, you're looking at the one who was supposed to be his apprentice, but as you can tell, that didn't quite work out. I swear that the only reason I was brought into this world was so that I could be trained as one of that bastard's henchman."

"I can't imagine Slade being the type to marry…"

"He's not. I've never even met my mother. I've never heard her voice, felt her touch…nothing at all. I might have just been bred in a test tube.

"That's terrible." Raven was beginning to think that she wasn't the only Titan who had a bad home life.

"That's just the beginning. From as early as I can remember, it was drilled into my head that I should do nothing but listen to Slade's orders and obey them without question. He was always Slade, never father. He wanted me to be his right hand man, but for some reason I never lived up to his expectations, despite all the tinkering he had done before my birth. I guess I just wasn't evil enough or something."

"But that doesn't explain how you became Red X."

'Well eventually, he gave up on me being his apprentice and shut me off from the world at the Hive. For a long time the instructors were the only people that I had any contact with. I hated it with a passion, and Slade knew that. He finally got into my head and convinced me that it was the Teen Titan's fault that I was forced to live in seclusion."

"So you were brainwashed."

"Basically. There was no way that Slade was gonna send me out as myself, so he gave me the Red X suit, and told me it would help get an edge against the Titans, all the while continuing to drill into my head how they were responsible for ruining my life. Once I put that suit on, I became a different person. I wasn't Jericho Wilson anymore; I was Red X, through and through. I became as obsessed as him, I would study files on you and the rest of the team for hours on end, looking for any weakness."

'That would explain a lot."

"Fortunately, it was after watching all of the good deed the Titans have done over the years that gave me my first taste that there was something better in life, but it was too buried in lies for me to really notice. Soon after my studying was done, I was sent back to the Hive so I could hand pick my personal team of graduates. They were the first people I ever knew who were even close to my age, so you can understand why I grew so attached to them."

"That's how I was when I first joined up with the Teen Titans. Ever since my own birth, my father tried to lure me to his side, but I was always protected. However, his attacks grew so frequent that I was sent to earth for my protection, with the hope that by the time he found me again, I could protect myself. I lived with a bunch of different foster families, but that never lasted long, for each family that adopted me in would send me on my way once they found out about my…abilities. Robin was forming a team of teenage superheroes, and somehow he had heard about me. I was approached with his offer, and to be honest, it was a lot better than being shuffled back and forth between foster homes for the rest of my life. Turns out it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I can tell. People like you and I fit in around here, much better than we do in the real world. Seeing first hand the connection you all have with each other is what I think finally snapped me out of the mental funk I was in. When I'm here, I feel like I'm home, and I've never wanted anything more than that in my entire life. I can have fun here, and out of all the Titans, I think you can identify best with having a wasted childhood and having no control over the circumstances."

"More than you can ever understand Red X…I mean…Jericho. I'm sorry; it's still a little strange to be calling you that."

'I'm sure it'll take a while to get used to for both of us, especially since its been years since anyone has called me by it. But…I do like hearing you say it." Raven turned her head to the side, hoping it would cover up the small blush that had creeped onto her face. She turned her head back, only to find his face hovering inches away from her own. Just as they were about to lean in for another kiss, a third voice broke the rooftop silence.

"Hey you two, what's going on up here?" It was Robin, coming outside to begin his patrol of the city. Before Robin could walk out into the light, Jericho quickly whipped his mask back over his face.

"Oh…nothing, just telling her what I saw in the city…and…that's it. Red X responded. Robin narrowed his eyes, and shrugged at the pair.

"Whatever. I'm heading out on patrol, so you two should go and get some sleep." Raven nodded at her teammates, stood up and walked back inside, moving a little faster than normal.

"Have a good night, Red?"

"It was a great night. I'll see you tomorrow."


	31. Identity Crisis

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Chapter 31: Identity Crisis

It would have been easy to say that after Raven and Red X kissed that everything was perfect, that the next morning the pair stood in front of their teammates and announced the beginning of a romantic new relationship. It would be easy to say, that is, if it were true. To be honest, both teens went to their rooms and lay awake for hours trying to make head or tails of the situation. Neither could come up with a reasonable explanation for their actions. Did they really feel that way about each other? No, they just got caught up in the moment. Or maybe they were just trying to hide how they truly felt, and their buried emotions finally bubbled up to surface. Of course not, she was Raven, Goth Queen of the Teen Titans. She was the mysterious one who didn't even have emotions and he was Jericho Wilson, Son of Slade. He was the anti-hero who wasn't supposed to have emotions aside from anger and sarcasm. Wait…is sarcasm an emotion? There were just so many questions rumbling their heads. Little did either know that all this worrying was for naught, it was merely the rational part of their brains trying to cover up for something they had truly wanted to do.

"Why can't anything ever be simple?" Raven asked her ceiling. Her biggest concern was the effect all of this could have on ability to contain her powers. If her emotions got out of control, even if they were good emotions, something bad could happen. Eventually, she quieted the questions long enough for her to fall asleep, though she tossed and turned all night. Red X couldn't help but flip-flop between being excited, and being nervous. By this point, the whole experience was not much more than a blur in his mind's eye. On one hand, he couldn't believe that he actually kissed Raven, but on the other hand, he couldn't believe that he actually kissed Raven. Her emotions were so deeply buried, that there was nearly no way to actively predict what she was going to do, or how she was going to act. The next morning, she could deny anything had happened just as easily as she could embrace it. Still, he couldn't deny how he felt about her. He too eventually fell asleep, and it was just as fitful as Raven's.

---

"So dude, tell me again what you saw last night?" Beast Boy asked Robin through a mouthful of tofu.

"I already told you…all I saw was Red X and Raven up on the roof talking." It was the third time Robin had to say it.

"Were they like kissing or something?"

"They were just talking. The key word there is talking."

"Oh c'mon man! Just think about it, the two of them up on the roof alone that late at night. What else could they be doing?"

"I dunno BB, maybe they were just having a heart to heart." Cyborg interjected. "If I recall, you've done the same thing with Raven once or twice."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she and I kissed."

"Exactly, so give the two a break." Cyborg returned to his own breakfast.

"Either way, I think that it is wonderful that Raven and Red X have become such close friends." Starfire said while wearing one of her typical grins.

"That's true, but I'm just saying..." Before Beast Boy could finish his sentence, he felt a gloved hand clamp down tightly on his shoulder.

"But what is it you're just saying?" Slowly, Beast Boy turned his head upward, and found himself looking square into the black mask of Red X.

"Gulp…I…I'm was just telling…" The changeling gurgled, his face turning a sickly shade of white. Red X laughed.

"I hope you're not telling any more of your jokes at the breakfast table, especially since we told you to stop." Beast Boy could think of nothing to say. "Don't worry Beast Boy, I'm just joking around." By this time, the entire table had burst out into laughter. It wasn't often that someone put the serial jokester into his place, under any circumstance.

"What's got you in such a good mood this morning, Red?" Robin asked.

"I'm not totally sure, but let's just say that soon, I'll be able to breathe a lot easier." Red X reached a hand up to his face and gave his mask a small tug. Robin nodded. "But anyway, I've got some more thinking to do, so I'll talk to you all later." His friends bid him goodbye, and he walked back up the stairs, but instead of going to his room, or up to the roof, he stopped at Raven's room. He had to talk to her, no matter what she ended up saying. He knocked once, and after a few seconds, the door creaked open and Raven appeared. Before he could even open his mouth, Raven spoke

"Don't worry about what happened last night." She said. "Neither of us would have done it if we didn't want to."

"That takes a huge load off my mind."

"However, I have to tell the truth. As you probably know, my powers are fueled by my emotions, and if my emotions get out of control, so do my powers. You understand my problem?"

"Yeah, I do. Look, you don't have to spell it out anymore, if you believe this will only lead to difficulties…" Raven's sudden smile caught Red X off guard.

"That's not it, Red, that's not it at all. All I mean is that it's going to take a while for me to adjust and get used to all of these new feelings, so we're both in for a long, hard road. I just want to know that it won't be simple."

"It never is, but I'm a patient guy; I'll wait as long as I have to, and I'll do it right by your side." Catching Red X by surprise for the second time that morning, Raven moved forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you." They held the embrace for a minute before letting each other go.

"I think we should keep everything our little secret until we're both ready."

"I agree, but right now I have to get back to my mediation. Goodbye for now." With that, Raven shut her door. Red X stood there for a moment before walking off, his mask hiding the smile underneath. So this is what having friends and family is really like?

---

Elsewhere, deep within the depths of Jump City-

"Are you sure this device will work?"

"Of course it will work…my inventions never fail, I assure you."

"It had better not Chang, because if I find out that I wasted my money on a piece of junk…"

"Calm yourself, my friend. With the power that machine will grant you, you will be able to get what you truly want..."

" …my revenge on the Teen Titans…"


	32. Fight The Light

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 32: Fight The Light

Back in the lounge, Beast Boy had finally given up trying to convince his friends about the secret relationship that Raven and Red X had, thanks to Starfire accidentally bringing up his own semi-secret crush on former titan Terra. Now the green skinned Titan sat in silence on the couch, his chin hanging against his chest.

"Beast Boy, I am sorry that I brought up friend Terra. I did not realize…"

"Don't worry about it, Star." Beast Boy said with a sigh. "It's been such a long time, I shouldn't be reacting this way anymore." He looked up at Starfire and forced a smile. The Tamarainian warmly smiled back, and promptly went back to watching television. The fiasco between Terra, Slade, and the Titans ended almost a year ago, but sometimes losing her still gnawed away at his insides. He would feel like it had finally gone away, and all of a sudden it would storm back. His friends had tried to help anyway they can, both trying to restore her to skin and bone, and to comfort him, but neither had been completely successful. She was still a statue, and the grief of losing her still dropped in to say hello time to time. The best therapy, he found, was to just hang out with his friends and have as much fun as possible. He and the rest of his friends were all sitting in the living room partaking in one of their favorite pastimes, arguing over what channel to watch. Cyborg wanted to watch sports, Beast Boy wanted to watch cartoons, and Starfire wanted to watch some science-fiction movie (she said some of the aliens reminded her of friends from home). It was just the three of them, Raven and Red X were still in their rooms, and Robin had left to go check his police scanners.

"Please Starfire, it's just a movie, those aliens aren't real." Cyborg joked.

"I am telling you, I have met that creature on the Moons of Skrindor."

"I don't care if he used to be your next door neighbor, I have waited a week to see the Gotham Knights take on the Metropolis High-Flyers, and we are gonna watch it."

"You're both wrong." Beast Boy interrupted. 'I watch Bongo's Happy Fun Half Hour every day at the same time, and you know it." The three grabbed at the channel changer, which went back and forth from hand to hand, only spending enough time in one place to change the channel. Just as soon as one would have the clicker firmly in their grasp, the other two would wrest it away and fight amongst themselves. This would usually last until the participants grew tired of fighting and gave up and watched whatever happened to be on the TV screen at the time. This time, Cyborg won out, and the sounds of football filled the Titan's living room, that is, they did until Robin burst into the room.

"What's up Robin? Cyborg asked, craning his neck around from the television.

"Doctor Light is going on a rampage downtown! We're moving out immediately." It didn't take anymore to rouse the Titans from their seats on the couch. Within seconds, the entire team had gathered in the Tower's hanger bay, in front of the latest T-Car. Robin was already barking out orders.

"Starfire, you, Beast Boy and Raven will fly in first, and Cyborg, Red X and I will be following right behind in the car." The flyers nodded in agreement and took off into the clouds. Everyone else piled into the T-Car and burned rubber into the underwater tunnel that lead into Jump City.

"What exactly have the reports said about Light's activity? A straight up rampage isn't really his style." Asked Red X.

"I know, and that's what concerns me most of all." Robin scratched his head and continued. "Apparently, he just showed up in the middle of the city and just started destroying everything in his path, demanding that someone try to stop him. Best I can guess, he was talking about us."

"There's no need to worry, we'll just rough him up like we always do." Cyborg laughed.

"I don't know, something just doesn't seem right about this. We'll just have to be extra careful." The rest of the ride was done in complete silence. However, once they arrived deep in the heart of Jump City, they were met with a sight that caught all of them off guard. Block after block of the city was nothing more than rubble. Piles of broken, burning debris lined both sides of the street. Entire sections of buildings were blown to bits. It looked just as terrible from the sky as it did from the ground.

"Doctor Light did this…that can't be…" Beast Boy said, giving voice to what they all were thinking. It was like being in an area that had been hit by a squadron of heavy bombers.

"I don't believe this." Raven added. Before anyone else could speak, there was a flash of light, and a huge explosion of debris that sent the unsuspecting Titans reeling in all directions.

"You'd better start believing." From the crumbling remains of one of the buildings, out walked Doctor Light, wearing a sinister smile on his face. Strapped across his back was what looked to be some kind of machine, with wires leading from it to gauntlets on his wrists.

"You'll pay for that, Light." Robin growled. Light burst out into laughter.

"That's where you're wrong, Titan. I'm tired of being beaten by a bunch of stupid kids wearing costumes. I won't be a joke anymore!" Light raised his hands above his head, and unleashed a giant orb of bright white energy. Robin managed to dive out of the way, but the force of the explosion caught him from behind, and threw him to the ground. He could smell his outfit smoldering.

"Titans, rush him!" He called out to his teammates. There was something different about Light, this unnerving aura, and it wasn't just because of whatever device he was wearing on his back. It was the aura of total confidence, an aura of fearlessness…but that didn't matter, as Robin rose to his feet and charged back into the battle. None of the Titans could get close to Light, as the villain was unloading with blast after blast in all directions, sending up clouds of dust, and littering the street with even more rubble. Cyborg fired one of his sonic waves, but Doctor Light simply batted it away before it could do any damage. While he was lining up another shot, a light blast ripped through his side, creating a shower of sparks. Meanwhile, Starfire launched an aerial assault, raining down a torrent of Starbolts. They struck the ground all around Light's feet, causing the ground to cough up another cloud of smoke that obscured the villain. Starfire hovered above the cloud, readying another volley until a bolt of green energy burst from the smoke and exploded directly in her face, sending her plummeting headfirst into the pavement. Using the distraction both Robin and Red X attempted to knock Light off balance by launching a simultaneous barrage of X Glue and Birdarangs, but with just one flash of energy, Light burnt them all into cinders. Undaunted, Robin and Red X charged, but were repelled by a pair of light bursts. Another burst caught a wolf form Beast Boy in the shoulder, adding singed fur to the already choking stench, and yet another caught him in the side, eliciting a howl of pain. From behind Light, Cyborg popped up and wrapped him in a bear hug, with the dual hope of crushing the device on his back and rendering him immobile. Light grabbed his arms and sent a wave of burning energy into Cyborg's body, which caused him to fall to the ground in a heap. The three remaining male Titans rose from the ground and attempted one last offensive move, but they were quickly knocked back down with what appeared to be a simple wave of Light's arm. Light's cackle echoed off the steel canyon, but the fight wasn't over yet.

"You haven't won yet, or have you forgotten about me." Raven snarled, her floating form completely surrounded with crackling black energy. She had a nasty bump on her head from when she fell, but it she was determined to put a stop to Light's rampage.

"I used to be scared of you, witch, but no longer. I have nothing to fear anymore." The villain sneered.

"We'll see about that…Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A mass of black energy swirled around Light, engulfing him from feet to head. For several seconds, there was no sound, and no movement. But then, a tiny sliver of light poked through the black shell, followed by another, and then another, until the entire thing exploded in one massive flare. Light and Raven stared each other down, trying to burn straight through to each other's soul.

"Don't you understand! I'm invincible!" Doctor Light screamed. Growing more desperate by the second, Raven swooped forward and enveloped Light in the darkness of her cloak, just like the first time she had defeated him. Light saw it coming, and allowed himself to be swallowed up. Raven breathed a sigh of relief, all she had to do was keep him confined for a while, and he would be reduced to a drooling baby, just like before. To her horror, the same small beams of light that cracked her dark shell before, now started to shine through her cloak. She fought to keep Light contained, but no matter how hard she concentrated, more and more of his energy began to seep through, until he erupted out from the darkness once again. The last thing she saw was him hovering over her, followed by one more brilliant flash of light. Doctor Light surveyed the destruction around him, and the beaten Teen Titans at his feet.

"I've done it…I've won." Was all he said before he turned and walked away.

---

"Man, did somebody get the license number of that truck that ran us all over?" Was the only thing Beast Boy could think to say when he regained consciousness.

"Now's not the time for joking, BB." Cyborg groaned while picking up bits and pieces of himself.

"You alright dude?" Beast Boy had just noticed the chunk missing out of his friends side.

"Yeah, all I had to do was re-route some systems, but now its just a simple matter of repairs." Off to the side, Robin was helping a bleeding Starfire regain her footing. The alien girl had a particularly nasty gash on her forehead, and her pretty face was caked in dried blood. For Robin himself, one of his arms hung somewhat limp to the side, from when he slammed side first into a wall. Red X sat up and rubbed his aching head. He took stock of the standing Titans, and came up with one unaccounted for. Raven. He struggled to his feet, and called out to his friends, and they found her shortly after, still laying on the ground.

"Hey Raven, are you okay?" Robin asked, kneeling down next to Raven grasping the young girl's shoulder. There was no response, not even hint of noise or movement. "Oh no." He laid two fingers on the side of her neck, and placed his head against her chest….there was no pulse…and there was no breath…

"Raven is….dead"


	33. When a Titan Falls

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 33: When a Titan Falls

"Raven is what?" For a moment, Red X hoped that his mask was muffling his hearing, or maybe that his ears were damaged in the battle with Doctor Light. That couldn't be it…he must still be unconscious and having some kind of terrible nightmare. Yeah, that had to be it.

"She's dead." Red X exhaled and grunted like he had been punched in the stomach, the contents of which rose up to his throat and threatened to splatter on the sidewalk. He staggered forward a few feet and fell to his knees next to her still body.

"That can't be…she can't be dead…that's not possible." He cradled her head in his arms, pulling her face towards his own. Without even realizing, he removed his mask. "Come on Raven, wake up. You can't be dead." The beginning of tears began to roll from the corners of his eyes. Despite the shock of seeing Red X without his mask, Robin placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I don't want to believe it either, Red but…well, all I can is I'm sorry." Red X laid Raven back on the ground as gently as he could and rose to his feet, his back to the rest of the Titans. The tears had stopped.

"Are you alright?" Beast Boy asked. Red X stared at the ground, then shifted his gaze to the black mask he held in his hand. He looked at Raven's face one last time before putting the mask on once more.

"I'm going to kill Doctor Light."

"What? We're all angry and upset, but saying things like that isn't going to help." Robin said. Red X turned and faced his friends.

"You don't understand. I'm going to hunt down Doctor Light, and skin him alive."

"You know we can't let you do that." There was something very disturbing about the way Red X spoke that reminded Robin of someone he would rather not think of. In a matter of seconds he had gone from near tears, to being chillingly cold.

'Don't try and stop me, I don't want to have to hurt any of you." Robin advanced a step towards X, but before he could make another move, smoke from a capsule on Red X's belt billowed out and blinded the lot of them. Moments later, the smoke was gone, and so was Red X.

"We should go after him should we not?" Starfire asked.

"I don't think so Star. In his condition who knows what he might be capable of." Cyborg said.

"I have to agree with Cyborg." Robin decided. He looked back down at Raven's body. "Besides we have more important things to deal with. I want to take her to a lab so we can run some tests and find out just what happened to her." Solemnly, the Titans lifted their fallen friend off the ground, and carried her off.

---

Revenge. It filled his mind, and drove his body. It was all he could think about. For the first time in his life, he truly felt human, and within days that feeling was taken from him. For the first time, he had a place that he could call a home, a place that was filled with people he could call friends, and in one instant it all came crashing down around him. The man responsible for this atrocity would pay, and the price is guaranteed to be more than he could ever pay. For a man with connections and a drive to do whatever was necessary, answers were not that hard to come by. It was only a matter of time before he tracked down Light's whereabouts. All he had to do was find the right people, and ask the right questions. In fact, at that moment one of those people was running for his life through the back alleys of Jump City, desperately trying to escape the phantom that was forever right on his heels. "Babe" Hanson was your typical lowlife, available for any sort of job as long as you could afford the price. People like him always had the inside track to the goings-on of the local underworld. Red X finally had him cornered, and to the thug's credit, he put up a better game than X would have expected. Hanson was shivering in his shoes, his back pressed up against the wall of the dead end that he had blundered into.

"What's the matter my little rat? No more room to run?" Red X sneered.

"What…what do you want with me?"

"Just a simple answer to a simple question. Where is Doctor Light?" Deep down, Red X hoped Hanson wouldn't give up a straight forward answer.

"I don't know who you're talking about; I ain't familiar with no doctors." The thug stammered. Red X took a few steps towards the quaking man. He tried to sprint past the masked man, but Red X stuck an arm out, caught him in the chest and hurled him backwards into the brick wall.

"I think you do." Holding Hansen against the wall with one arm, Red X flicked his wrist, activating a small blade on his glove. He pressed the tip of it against Hansen's forehead.

"I swear I have no idea what you're talking about." Red X applied pressure to the blade, and dragged it straight down the thug's face. Within seconds his face was nothing more than a crimson mask.

"Talk." The blade was now pressed against Hansen's throat.

"I'll talk, just please stop! He's holed up in a safe house in the Merchant District." Red X pressed the blade tighter against the man's throat, opening a small trickle of blood.

"Specifics if you don't mind."

"Fine…fine…112th East Street, building number 20."

"Thanks." A single knee to the gut later, and Red X was back on the track. His moment of revenge grew closer with every step.

---

The trip back to Titan Tower was a silent one. No one could bring themselves to speak, even if they had anything to say. They had carried Raven's body into the Tower's laboratory and laid it down on one of the tables. Every available machine was hooked up to her, in hopes of discerning what exactly had happened.

"Anything yet, Cyborg? Robin asked, looking at some of the readouts.

"I just don't understand. I'm not getting any signs of life, but the machines can't figure out anything wrong with her. No wounds, no marks, nothing damaged at all. It's like she just shut down."

"That is strange. Keep running tests."

---

112th East Street. Building 20. Red X was already inside. He moved from room to room, through the darkness. For someone so obsessed with the light, he sure liked to keep himself in the dark. After searching the building from the roof down, he found himself in the building's expansive basement.

"Show yourself, Light!" With one brilliant flash, the entire room lit up, and standing before him was none other than Doctor Light.

"There's no sense in hiding anymore, seeing as how I've already beaten all of you."

"You're gonna pay for what you did to Raven…"


	34. Wrath of Red X

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 34: Wrath of Red X.

"You're going to pay you bastard."

"Are you going to punish me all by your lonesome? Oh, I'm so scared!" Doctor Light snickered. Red X did not waste any more with banter. He charged Light head on, speared him to the ground, and unloaded on him with wild rights and lefts. X didn't even have to think about throwing punches; they just flowed out of him like a waterfall. About a dozen must have landed before Light slammed him back against the far wall with one of his bolts. Light raised a hand up to his face and wiped at the small trickle of blood that formed at the corner of his mouth.

"Not bad. Looks like you're gonna give me some trouble." His hand moved from his face to the device on his, flicking a few switches, and turning a knob until the clicking stops. A noise emanated from the pack until it grew into a loud droning hum that reverberated off the walls of the room. The white energy spread from Light's hands and surrounded his entire body, illuminating the room and chasing away all the shadows. Even Red X had to shield his eyes from the brightness. Even just standing there in front of Light, he could feel the blazing light singing his skin right through his costume. He still took a step forward. Light laughed, and turned up the temperature even more. It felt like his suit was going to catch on fire at any moment and turn into cinders. The heat stopped Red X in his tracks, but only for a second. He stared walking toward Light once again. The smile on Doctor Light's face melted into a sneer, and the pushed the device's power to its limits. This time, Red X did not falter, he merely continued forward. The noise from the machine had reached a fever pitch, and it was vibrating violently, voicing its anger at being pushed to the breaking point.

"You fool, you'll be reduced to cinders!" Doctor Light screamed over the throbbing hum of the machine. Small sparks of electricity now began to issue from the device's seams. Red X did not speak, he only continued on his path. Light was only a few feet away. Light's facial expression changed once more, from a look of anger, to a look of fear; fear fueled by the raging man in front of him, and by the now dangerously overloading machine on his back. Red X leapt the last few feet forward and wrapped his hands around the villain's neck. His mask had been burnt clean off his face by the intense heat, and as a result, Light found himself staring straight into his crazed eyes. They were wild in rage and pain.

"I'm going to kill you." X growled. His hands were raw and bleeding, but he didn't care anymore. That pain was nothing compared to the pain inside of his head. Red X reached around to Light's back and grabbed holding of the device, sending arcs of electricity shooting through both of them. With one last surge of strength, he tore the machine right off his back, and crushed it in his bare hands. Doctor Light crumbled to the ground clutching at his smoking back. Red X towered over the fallen villain as he tossed aside the broken mass of metal and circuitry in his hands. Light was defeated, but he was far from finished. Time and again his foot lashed out and caught Doctor Light in the gut, the sound of cracking ribs accompanying each blow. Blood poured from Light's mouth. Red X lifted the broken man into the air, and hurled him against the closest wall as hard as he could, following him in with a crushing shoulder tackle to his already damaged ribs. Doctor Light slumped to the ground unconscious. X lifted him into the air again, and slammed him into the ground. He placed his foot on the fallen foe's throat and prepared to take his final revenge.

"Stop! Don't do it!" A familiar voice called out from the darkness, distracting Red X from his mission.

"Who's there?" With Light out of action, the room had returned to its former darkness, with only a few scant overhead light bulbs still functioning. A flashlight blinked to life, and out of the shadows stepped Robin. "What are you doing here Robin? You know this is something I have to do." Red X leaned forward and applied a little pressure to Light's neck, which was already soaked in blood.

"And you know that I can't let you do that." Robin inched forward, not wanting to antagonize X any more than he had too.

"Stay out of this Robin. I'm not gonna let you stop me."

"Calm down Red…Light will pay for what he's done, he'll be in jail for a long, long time."

"That's not enough! An eye for an eye, and death for death. The only way you're gonna stop me is by knocking me out."

"If you insist." Robin's hand flashed down to his belt, retrieved a small capsule and hurled it at Red X's feet all in the blink of a eye. The capsule exploded in a cloud of stifling smoke, and Robin used the momentary distraction to launch himself at Red X, smashing into him with both feet square in his face. Red X dropped to the floor, and was still. Robin knew that Red X couldn't have put up too much of a fight anymore, based on the damage it looked like his body too, but he hit him full force anyway, just to be on the safe side. He would have a lot of explaining to do when Red X regained his senses.

---

It was some time before Red X awoke in a dazed sweat. His mind raced, trying to re-focus himself from his last known location to where he found himself laying. He was in a bed, in a white room so white and sterile it could only be a hospital room…or a mental ward. Something was wrong with his face; it felt like it was being smothered. To his surprise, there were bandages wrapped around the whole of his head.

"What's going on? Where am I! Red X called out. From behind the white curtain that surrounded his bed, there was the rustling movement, and Starfire's pretty face poked through, lit up with a bright smile. She disappeared behind the curtain again.

'How wonderful! My friends, he has finally awoken! Within seconds, his friends surrounded him, all of them grinning.  
"Good to see you awake man!" Beast Boy chirped, absent-mindingly slapping X on the back. He winced from the pain, and smiled back.

"Nice to see you too, BB, just watch the injuries alright?"

"Sorry, bro."

"How're you feeling?" Cyborg asked.

"I'll live. Where is Robin?"

"I'm right here. I'm sorry I had to hit you.

"You did what you had to do. What's my diagnosis?"

"Well, you'll be back on your feet in no time, but your face was badly burned. We did what we could, but it looks like you'll have to keep it cover for a while."

"Just another reason to wear my mask." He reached his hand up and touched the bandages. "Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well not mope about it."

"That's the spirit. Look, the doctors say we have to get out of here, but we'll be back to check on you real soon."

"Yes, we give you all the wishes of wellness, dear friend." Starfire added. The friends all said their goodbyes, and the Titans shuffled out of the hospital room. Red X laid his head down on his pillow, and fell asleep.

---

Hours later, a pair of doctors stood outside of Red X's room, comparing notes on the mysterious patient.

"Who is this guy?"

"I have no idea, the Titans said he was one of theirs, and his face was too burned up to get any kind of positive id. I just didn't ask any questions."

"Good idea. Diagnosis?"

"His face and body will heal up just fine, given time…but there was something else we found that stood out."  
"What's that?"  
"He's obviously been under tremendous stress lately, and these are some pretty extensive injuries."

"Yeah, and…"

"Our tests have shown that he's sustained some mental damage. I'm not sure if it's permanent or not, but its pretty bad."

"Let's go check in on him." The bed was empty, and the window was wide open. Red X had disappeared!


	35. The Gathering Storm

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 35: The Gathering Storm.

The Titans wished with all their hearts that everything would return to the way it used to be once they returned again to Titan Tower, but they knew all too well that the state of normalcy they once enjoyed may never return. No amount of sinking back into daily routine could disguise the fact that they were short not one, but two members. Raven still lay in the bowels of the Tower in the same unchanging comatose state that she had been in for the past four months, and no one had seen hide nor hair of Red X since he disappeared from the hospital where they last saw him. Nothing was the same…going out and fighting crime was a much more sober affair, there was far less arguing amongst the team. They didn't even hold the weekly contests to see who could eat the most pizza anymore.

Life had become an ever-repeating drone. They would all wake up; eat at a table where two seats still remained empty. The alarm would eventually sound and the four of them would rush off into Jump City and right whatever wrongs were being committed, but hey did so without the same vigor they once did. Gossip of the disappearance of two of the Titans emboldened many of the city's previously underground crime syndicates, resulting in a rise in crime to levels that Jump City hadn't seen since before the Titans formed a few years ago. It wasn't relegated to minor criminals either, several of their deadliest enemies tried to take advantage of the Titan's reduced numbers. No less than the Hive, Killer Moth and Dr Chang all separately tried to reduce Jump city to rubble, only to be stopped by the much more serious Titans. Starfire's sister Blackfire had even decided to come out of her exile and pay a visit to her "dear friends and family" on planet Earth. She supplied the fireworks for her so-called reunion party by personally lighting up parts of downtown Jump City.

"Come on Star, haven't you learned anything since the last time I visited?" She taunted, racing ahead of the closely following Starfire. She pulled up towards the clouds and looped backwards, ending up behind her startled sister. A single blackbolt forced the younger alien to crash into a nearby skyscraper. Starfire emerged shortly, an angry look on her face.

"You will pay for that, sister." She shouted.

"Ooooh." Blackfire teased in mock impression. "What tragedy could have happened to turn my happy little Starfire into such a hardened warrior? Ha ha ha."

"I am in no mood for your senseless words, sister Blackfire." Starfire growled.

"Hey, what happened to that uber creepy girl that hated everything?" Blackfire laughed.

"You will not profane my friend!" Starfire rocketed forward from the side of the skyscraper and slammed full force into her sister, driving them both straight down to the concrete street below. The ground buckled underneath the force and caved in, forming a deep crater in the center of the street. Blackfire lay dazed for a few moments before coming around. Along the rim of the crater stood the four remaining Titans, all staring down at her.

"I guess I hit a nerve." Blackfire mused, forcing another laugh. Starfire's eyes began to blaze again, but Robin stepped in front of her.

"We've won, that's enough. Don't let her get to you." Robin turned to face Blackfire, who had not made a single attempt to escape from her hole. She knew in her heart that something truly terrible must have happened to set Starfire off like that, and she was in no mood to raise her ire any further. In fact, she knew exactly what was going to happen. The Titans would capture her, contact the intergalactic police, and then ship her off to some high-tech holding pen until they arrived. From that point on it was only a matter of time before she managed to escape again.

"You're going to be spending a long time in prison Blackfire, for what you've done." Robin said to her.

"We'll see about that! You know I'll escape and come back to visit your beautiful planet." Blackfire snickered. Robin motioned towards the ditch as the sound of police sirens drew closer by the second. Cyborg clambered down into the pit alongside Blackfire and clamped on her arms a pair of restraints he had designed specifically for super-powered criminals. Blackfire still put up no resistance aside from what taunts managed to slip past her teeth. Within a few minutes, the Police Wagon screeched to a halt alongside the battle zone, and out of the vehicle poured a squad of fully armed and armored S.W.A.T officers, seemingly ready to defend against a small army. All they found was a somber group of heroes surrounding a surprisingly cocky looking villain. By the way things appeared, it was as if the Titans were the ones captured by Blackfire, and not vice versa. The S.W.A.T. officers loaded Blackfire into the back of the van and clambered in after her. With a roar of its engine, the van puttered off down the street and out of the view of the four friends.   
"Well, that's just one more creep who learned the hard way that we're still the Teen Titans." Robin said, watching the van in the distance with a hand shading his eyes.

"If we're still the Teen Titans.." Beast Boy sighed. "Then why doesn't it feel like it?"

---

One hour later, and the Police Van was still on its way to the prison, hauling its lone cargo. Inside the van sat Blackfire, flanked on all sides by the SWAT officers. None of them had even tried to say word one to her, and honestly she wouldn't want the lowlifes jawing at her anyway. She'd just as soon wipe the floor with them, if it weren't for the damn restrainers locked on her arms.

All of a sudden there was an explosion followed by shouts that came from the two drivers. The van stopped violently, as if it struck something…or perhaps as if something had struck it. The officers that surrounded were chittering frantically amongst themselves as they tried to force the rear door of the van off its now twisted hinges. Half of them finally made their way out into the open, and within mere moments they too shouted, but their noise only lasted for a moment as well. The second half left the van, and sure enough, they too met the same fate as their comrades. Through the smoke, Blackfire could not yet see what had happened to the guards, and even then she was a little apprehensive about leaving the confines of the van and looking for herself. Ultimately, her curiosity, allied with her desire to be free, convinced her out into the open as well. The van had been totally trashed, as if it ran over a land mine, and sprawled unconscious on the ground in front of her lay the entire complement of SWAT officers. Something, or someone had wiped them out. A voice from out of sight drew Blackfire's attention away from the carnage.

"I see you're admiring my handiwork." Called the voice. Blackfire whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Whoever you are…you aren't that bad, though I could have done it quicker myself."  
"Naturally, Lady Blackfire." The voice now came from directly in front of the alien girl. Out from the smoke walked a man clad from head to toe in black, his face covered by an eerie white and black mask.

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Red X, and I have a proposition for you."


	36. Deal with the Devil

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Chapter 36: A Deal with the Devil.

Why should I listen to a word that you say? Blackfire sneered at her mysterious new friend. It wasn't like she needed the help escaping from the police van; she knew she would eventually find a way to escape on her own. If the toughest prisons in the galaxy couldn't hold her, some puny earth hole couldn't possibly get the job done.

"Simple. I can help you do something that you've never truly been able to accomplish."

"Oh, is that so? What in the world could some petty earth thug help me with?" Blackfire inwardly growled. There were far too many peons on this mud ball who think that just because they off you a little assistance; you're in some kind of debt to them.

"How about helping you score the final, definitive victory over your sister?" Red X grinned under his mask, if there was one thing Red X had made sure to do during his time at Titan Tower, it was to read every entry on every villain the Titan's had ever fought, and Blackfire was no exception. Her enmity for her sister was legendary amongst the Titans, enhanced even more by the fact that she may no longer be the stronger of the pair.

Starfire herself had not grown stronger on her own however, she had those infernal Titans to back her up, and it was they who helped her cheat her way through fights with their precious "teamwork" Had it not been for their constant meddling between her and Starfire, surely she would win easily. Perhaps it was time to find some back-up of her own to counteract the Titans, and this newcomer could be just the one to do it, though he had to be tested first.

"That's an intriguing offer, but what makes you think you can hang with me?" Blackfire examined her impeccably groomed fingernails while she spoke, trying to appear nonchalant. "Weren't you supposed to be some kind of hotshot super criminal before you joined the Titans and lost your edge? Red X laughed, and smiled again. Blackfire was no slouch when it came to manipulating people when trying to get her way.

"Don't think that I don't know about who you are Red X, and about your involvement with the Titans. I'm not stupid, and I take pride in knowing as much as I can about my poor sister and her friends."

"I'm impressed Blackfire. While it is true that I did serve the Titans for a while, if you're insinuating that it made me soft, you're in for a surprise."

"Prove it." Blackfire sneered. In one quick motion she raised her palm up in Red X's direction and launched one of her black bolts right on the spot he was standing. When the smoke cleared, all that was left on the ground was the scorch mark where her bolt had struck. A smug grin spread across her face, sure in her mind that she had erased the pompous X from existence. She did not notice, however, Red X sliding from his stance in the blink of an eye until he reappeared directly behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Blackfire whirled around, intent on removing Red's head from his shoulders, but once again, all she saw was the air behind her. Whoever this guy was, he was a lot faster than he looked.

"By the look on your face, Lady Blackfire, I can tell that you're either annoyed, or impressed, but either way, I do believe I proved just how capable I am." Red X's voice chimed from his perch on the wreckage of the transport car.

"Don't push your luck, stranger." Despite her growing annoyance with X's theatrics, Blackfire couldn't help but be affected by the unnatural speed of her mysterious benefactor. "Just because you can pull some lame disappearing act doesn't mean you're worth squat in a fight." That's the thing about having super-speed, sure you could run circles around your foes, but once someone finally caught you, which they inevitably would, there was no guarantee that they could withstand any serious amount of punishment. A real gamble on the battlefield.

"Is that so? Red X sighed. "Well then, what else can I do to prove myself worthy of being in your service?" He bowed so low that his head nearly touched his feet. His theatrics did not go unnoticed.

"There are a number of things that you can do, the first of which is to cut the dramatic bullshit. The second thing won't be as simple."

"Oh? What could possibly be harder than that?"

"All you have to do is to beat me in a fight." Blackfire puffed out her chest in pride. Her sister aside, there weren't many beings in this or any other galaxy that she had met that could defeat her in one on one competition. One quick ass kicking and this wanna-be would be sent limping on his way. Blackfire raised her hand to try to try to surprise X, but on X, but before she raised her arm halfway up he had already back flipped high into the air off the wagon, and unleashed two handfuls of capsules over Blackfire's head. The capsules exploded directly above her, releasing thick plumes of black smoke that quickly enveloped the startled Tamarainian. The stinging smoke brought painful tears to her eyes, and seemed to creep down her throat and into her lungs. Within seconds she was wheezing heavily, and firing her black bolts at random from within the dangerous cloud, hoping desperately that she would score a lucky hit against her opponent. She had to get out of the cloud. Up into the air she rocketed, but the smoke still clung to her body. It seemed like it was following her! A fiery rage brewed in her stomach, compounded by the living smoke that still partially blinded her. She tried to spot Red X through her half closed eyes, but she couldn't make out much more than shadows and darkened shapes.

During her struggle, Red X kept out of the enraged warrior's view by constantly circling around her, staying just out of her view. He dipped his hands back to his belt and hurled another set of capsules at Blackfire when she levitated up out of the smoke. This set erupted into a brilliant flash of white light so bright that it must have looked like lightning had struck the ground. The rage bubbled higher in Blackfire, forming a burning lump in her throat. Once the light further blinded her, her frustration finally burst out in a blood-curdling scream. Despite her blindness, black-bolts tore up the ground around her feet, causing chunks of dirt and road to fly about like an earthquake. Red X was sent scurrying under the onslaught, but he still had a few more tricks up his sleeve. Dodging the wild bolts of energy, Red X darted back forth from under Blackfire, launching dozens of his trademark X Blasts at the rampaging Tamarainian. Slowly but surely, with each consecutive pass, they covered more and more of her body. By the time she blew off the X's that covered her hands, a single huge blast covered her face, further disorienting the already confused girl. No longer was she able to keep herself aloft, and she plowed down onto the ground tearing at the sticky red goo that covered her face.

Red X launched himself forward, planting both of his boots solidly into Blackfire's face, dropping her into a heap on the ground. For a few minutes, Blackfire lay still on the ground, her chest rising and falling with each slow breath. Red X knelt down next to his fallen opponent, peeled the red glob from her face, and administered a special solution from his belt to her eyes. It was a few more moments later before she began to regain consciousness. Eventually, she pulled herself up to a sitting position and sat staring in disbelief at the mysterious man who defeated her so soundly.

"I don't know what the hell you did to me, but you beat me." The anger had long since subsided, replaced by a combination of confusion, curiosity, and fatigue. There was something about Red X that she couldn't put her finger on, something very…interesting.

"You'll have to excuse my tactics, but I play to win." Red X laughed, holding out a handful of the smoke capsules in front of Blackfire's face.

"No shit. What are those anyway?"

"Just a little something that I've been working on the past few months. Its my latest weapon, but that's not the important thing. What about my proposition?" Blackfire studied him for a few more minutes before extending her hand out to him

"You've got a deal, now tell me about this plan of yours."

"With pleasure…


	37. Growing Darkness

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 37: The Growing Darkness.

In the months following the ordeal with Doctor Light, when the team wasn't out fighting crime, it became a sort of weekly ritual to journey down into the deepest section of Titan Tower and gaze at the statue still body of their friend Raven. Near where the Titans once held Red X prisoner, the fallen Titan lay inside of a medical tank, surrounded on the inside by healing liquid, and on the outside by a bank of sophisticated medical terminals that constantly monitored her. The attention they paid her seemed so futile, in weeks their friend had not once moved, had not once breathed, and according to the machines, had not once even registered brain activity. Any doctor would have proclaimed her dead, despite the fact that her body had yet to show even the slightest hint of decomposition. It was like everything that had made her alive had simply shut down, and left, leaving nothing more than the solid shell of her body. And it was that fact that the Titans couldn't bear to depart from their teammate, as hopeless as it truly felt. It was as if she weren't truly dead…just asleep, though they had all long given up the hope that she would one day wake up. At any given time, there could be found at least one Titan down in the bowels of the tower, closely inspecting the machines, silently hoping for even the slightest sign of life. Currently, both Cyborg and Beast Boy were there, alternately watching over Raven's body, and inspecting the ever-present machines.

"Do you think she'll ever wake up?" Beast Boy asked, pressing his face against the glass container. Cyborg craned his neck from his seat at the main set of computer screens.

"Like I told you the last thousand times you asked, BB, I have no idea." He turned back to the screens and sighed deeply. Every time he came down here, he would ask the same question without fail. "Look, her condition hasn't changed since we brought her here. She may wake up tomorrow, in ten years, in a hundred, or maybe never."

"I know, I know." Beast Boy groaned. As much as he didn't want to face the truth, all he ever had to do was take a glance at the floating form in front of him to be brutally reminded of it. What happened to Raven was a fact of life that none of the Titans could ignore, what happened to her could happen to any of them at any time, and that time could come against any foe, whether he be someone like Doctor Light, or someone like Slade. If they weren't careful enough, it could even happen against the lowliest thug, and that thought sent a shiver up Beast Boy's spine. What made the situation worse was what happened to Red X. He saw what went down first hand, and something inside him just snapped, sending him spiraling back to some part of his mind that he had long since seemed to conquer. He took out all of his rage on Doctor Light, nearly killing both of them in the process. Afterwards, during a stay in the hospital he disappeared into thin air, and hasn't been seen since. Beast Boy rapped his knuckles on the glass, as if the sound would somehow stir Raven from her comatose state. He stood in silence for a few seconds, let out a breath in disappoint, and then turned to walk back to the upper levels of the tower. Before he got to the exit, the sound of Cyborg's voice stopped him

"I know you miss her Beast Boy, we all do, but the only thing we can really do for her is to never give up hope." Cyborg slammed a palm down on the top of the computers, sending a metallic ring echoing through the room. "As useless as these computers may be, as useless as all this attention and waiting may be, we still keep up with it because we still believe there is hope, and once we lose that, its over for all of us." Beast Boy smiled at his friend, nodded in agreement, and walked out.

It's midnight, and Jump City Prison is under attack. From his vantage point on a nearby hill, Red X could see the smoke billowing out of the building up into the cool night air. More importantly, he could see the blasts of energy his partner Blackfire was raining down from the sky, and could hear the commotion it was causing. How strange, he thought, most of those prisoners would do anything to get out, and here I am trying to get in. The sound of sirens coming from other parts of Jump City told him that he had to move quickly, or he would miss his opportunity. He raced down from the hill towards the prison, making sure to stay out of view, which was simple thanks to Blackfire's noisy distraction. All of the eyes were on her, leaving him free to go about as he pleased, without the bothersome guards to tell him that he wasn't eligible for visiting hours. So inconvenient, when all he wanted was to discuss business with one of the many inmates. He made his way to the wall of the prison, on the opposite side from where Blackfire was delivering her barrage. He darted between the lights and the last stragglers rushing to try and deal with his partner, not that they would be able to actually do anything to stop her. Though he wasn't really in any hurry, he still had to act fast, not because Blackfire would tire, but because he didn't want any other outside interference from any of Jump City's many inhabitants. With the aid of a grappling hook, Red X quickly scaled up the prison wall, to one of the many steel barred windows. One canister of a powerful acid later, and he was inside. He snuck down the metal and stone corridor, taking careful notice of each prison cell as he passed, as there was only one that he held any interest in. Most of the super-criminals captured in Jump City were shipped off to the ever popular, but always full Arkham Asylum, but a few were kept here either for good, or until they were transferred to a higher security facility. Red X had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure that he knew each and every prisoner kept under lock and key. Eventually, he finds his way to the one cell he was looking for, one marked with the name Cameron Van Cleer, though the being inside looked anything far from human. Sitting hunched on the bed, the creature had large wings, bulging, multifaceted eyes, and a pair of razor sharp mandibles jutting out of his mouth. He looked for the entire world like a human-sized version of a mutated moth.

"Killer Moth, I presume?" Red X asked the creature, peering through the small window of his cell. Killer Moth shifted toward his visitor, looking as confused as his insect-like face would allow.

'Yeah, and who wants to know?" Moth asked.

"A friend, here to offer you two things. An escape, and an opportunity." Red X replied.

"If you can get me out of here, I'll be all ears."

"Good." Red X plucked a small device from his utility belt. "That's enough fireworks Blackfire. If you don't mind, our new friend would like a way out." Red X turned back to Killer Moth. "I think you better stand back from the wall." Doing as he was told, Moth pressed himself up against the cell door, and Red X backed up as far as he could as well. A few moments later, the wall behind Moth exploded, showering the criminal with chunks of rubble. Blackfire floated in the air a few feet away from the demolished cell wall. Killer Moth looked first from the hole in the wall, and the hovering alien, back to Red X still standing out in the hall. X nodded at him, and motioned towards the hole. Moth spread his wings for the first time in days, and flew out, though he kept his distance from the Tamarainian. Red X smiled under his mask. The plan was going perfectly.


	38. Trash and Treasure

Chapter 38

Trash and Treasure

"Are you sure it's supposed to be around here?" Blackfire moaned, blasting a nearby car into a million pieces. "The only thing around here is junk, and more importantly, this filthy air is messing up my perfect hair"

"Finding junk in a junkyard, is there nothing you can do?" Killer Moth laughed, poking his head out from the pile of garbage that he was rooting through.

"Listen you giant bug, mouth off to me and I'll squash you like a fly." Blackfire sneered.

"For the last damn time, I'm a MOTH, not a FLY. There's a difference."

"Either way, you're still nothing more than an insect." Moth burst out of the pile of garbage, flying up so that he was eye to eye with Blackfire.

"I swear, if you do that one more time I'll…"

"Cut that crap out you two, there's no time for your senseless bickering." The pair floated back down to the ground in front of Red X, who walked out from another section of the junkyard. "Did you find what we are looking for?"

"Sorry, boss. No luck." Moth admitted. "We haven't found anything but trash and more trash.

"It might help, if…I don't know…you actually told us what we were looking for? We've been in this disgusting place for hours." Blackfire groaned, flicking pieces of garbage from her immaculate outfit, which had already been stained at least two new colors.

"I already explained to you, once you find it, you'll know what it is." Blackfire floated off into a separate section of the junkyard, fully intent on sitting and waiting for someone else to finish the work, she was tired of getting herself dirty with the only reason being "because I said so". If it weren't for his interesting little proposal, she would have blasted the arrogant X into bits a long time ago. Killer Moth, still grateful for the breakout, dutifully went back to rooting through the piles, not that it bothered him much. It was better working with rotting material than actually rotting yourself, especially in prison. In his favor, it wasn't long until he came across something very unusual. Right away, he called X and Blackfire to inspect his discovery. It vaguely resembled a huge yellow and orange person, albeit made out of metal. Stranger still, it had a face, and actually looked like it was asleep.

"What the hell is this thing? What's it doing here?" Moth asked Red X, who quickly moved by his Moth and began tinkering with the bulky robot.

"This is the next piece of our plan, and you can call him Atlas. A few months ago, he battled the Teen Titans and lost, and what's left of him ended up buried here in this junkyard."

"And your point for all of this is?" Blackfire interrupted as she sat down on the hood of a nearby wrecked car.

"I'm going to reactivate him, and then he's going to help me."

"What if he isn't so agreeable?"

"Well, no matter what something is made out of, it can always be turned back into junk." Red X returned to tinkering with the still slumbering Atlas. Certain wires needed to be reattached, pieces needed to be put back into place, and all told, it took him a good hour before he could finally re-activate the robot. It awoke like a computer and like a human, first with the whir of an artificial brain, followed by the opening of a pair of eyes that cautiously surveyed its surroundings."

"Where is Atlas?" The construct asked, more of itself than of the other beings surrounding it. It tentatively rose from it's prison of refuse, and slowly made its way back to its feet. It towered over everything, including the three people that stood beside him.

"You are amongst allies, my metal friend." Red X said, stepping right in front of the behemoth. "You were shut down after a battle with the Teen Titans, and I am the one who re-activated you. My name is Red X."

"Atlas thanks you for your assistance. Now, if you don't mind, Atlas has to redeem himself against those blasted Titans." Atlas started to move forward, but before he could get anywhere, Red X stopped him with an open hand.

"Just listen to me for once second Atlas. You've gone against the Titans a number of times, and each time, you've been defeated."

"Atlas does not like his defeats being spoken of in this manner." Atlas growled.

"I understand, Atlas. But what is the reason why you were defeated? It is simple, because the Titans cheated."

"The Titans…cheated?"

"That's right. They had the superior numbers, and they used that against you, because they knew what would happen if they faced you one on one."

"They would be crushed under my feet." Said Atlas

"Exactly. But they won't allow that to happen, and that is why we are here to help you even those odds. With us at your side, the Titans will have no chance." The metal behemoth stood silent for a few moments, pondering the offer.

"Yes…yes…you have a point Red X. Atlas shall lend you his aid." Atlas's hand engulfed Red X's in a handshake. Red X laughed…another piece of the puzzle falls into play, just one more to go…

"Hey! Everybody come and take a look at this." Beast Boy called out from the living room in Titan Tower. Robin came forward and leaned across the back of the couch.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"It's a news report on the assault on Jump City Prison the other day. Not a single prisoner escaped, with the exception of just one, our old friend Killer Moth."

"Who would go through the trouble to break Killer Moth out of prison?" Robin asked.

"That's where it gets even stranger, they have some security footage of the person they think is responsible, and you'll never guess who it is." Robin peered at the screen, and for a second, could not believe his eyes…the footage was of poor quality, and cut off after a few seconds, but there was no denying that it was Blackfire destroying the wall and allowing Killer Moth to escape.

"Maybe you can clue me in Robin, but what does Starfire's sister have to do with Killer Moth?" Robin shrugged his shoulders. He had remembered hearing about the rogue Tamarainian's escape from the transfer convoy, but he had never expected to her from her so soon again, and especially not in a situation like this.

"I don't know…and that's part of what worries me…something must have brought those two together. I want someone monitoring the computer twenty-four seven, and from now until I say so, watches in the city are doubled. Something very bad is in the works, and I want to know what."


	39. Of Light and Darkness

Author's note – Well, after such a long time, I finally find the time to add another chapter to this story, and I apologize to anyone who may have waited so patiently to read it. Thanks!

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Chapter 39: Of Light and Darkness

In the days following Killer Moth's mysterious breakout out from one of Jump City's prisons, achieved with the help of Blackfire of all people, the entire city went under Teen Titan lockdown. Working in close conjunction with the local police, the Titans worked themselves to the bone, canvassing and re-canvassing the city from one end to another, following even the smallest lead to its bitter end, but still, after all that, not a single clue or definitive answer was to be found. But despite that, Robin was not about to let a sleeping dog lie. That two criminals, neither of whom had any history together, were suddenly assisting each other was an occurrence too strange to ignore. Add to that the fact that following the break out, the entire city fell damn near silent, something big, and more importantly, something bad was bound to happen. It was the calm before the storm, it had to be, and Robin was determined to make sure the Titans did everything they could to prevent it, even if it meant that tensions were approaching a fever pitch. And of all the Titans, one made sure his voice was heard loud and clear

"Robin, I don't care what kind of weird superstitions you have, we have been patrolling the city nonstop twenty fours hours a day, seven days a week. I haven't had to time to shower in a week, and you can even forget about sleep, cause I'm starting to forget how I'm even supposed to do that!" Beast Boy shouted at the top of his lungs. "You have been working all of us to the bone for no reason. So what if Starfire's sister broke Killer Moth out of prison…they haven't been seen since, and for all we know, they aren't even in the city anymore."

"You're just not looking at the big picture, Beast Boy." Robin responded. "The problem is not that Blackfire freed Killer Moth, it's why she freed him. I'm sorry if I'm worried when two criminals with no connection start breaking each other out of prison."

"Well, you know what? You can take this patrol, and stick it, because I am going to bed. If you're so keen on patrolling the city, you can do it yourself!" Beast Boy growled. Before Beast Boy could turn around and walk away, Robin reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Don't you even think about walking away…" Robin growled back at his friend, whose eyes were staring daggers. Beast Boy jerked out of Robin's grip and was about to speak again when Cyborg pushed his way between the two feuding teammates.

"As much as I don't want to take sides in this, Robin, BB has a point." He began. "What good are any of us out on patrol when we're too tired to make out our own feet? We could all use a day off, even you." Robin did his best to block out what his friends were saying, but deep down, he couldn't find any fault with Cyborg's logic. Even he, despite his drive, was starting to fatigue. With every passing second, he could feel his reflexes slowing down. There was nothing Robin could do to disguise the shudder when he thought about what would have happened if the Titans were forced to fight a major foe in their exhausted state. No matter how he figured it, there was no good outcome. He had no choice but to shrug his shoulders and capitulate.

"Beast Boy….you're right, and I'm sorry. I've been pushing you all way too much. I let fear cloud my judgment. You know what…there won't be any patrols today, as of right now, we all have the rest of the day off." Robin sighed. It was the least he could do for his friends, for all the hellish work he had put them through over the last few days. He could only hope that his worries were unfounded, and pray that things did not take a turn for the worst. If only he knew just how wrong he was….

Red X stood alone in the shadows, surveying the building that house the final, and perhaps, most important piece of his plan. Unfortunately, it could also prove to be the most difficult, though in no way was he going to accept defeat after he had gone this far, and accomplished so much. His newfound allies were holed up together back at his secret base, for Red X felt that he must accomplish this phase of his plan on his own. Suffice to say was a very personal matter, close to his own heart. He only hoped that his "friends" behaved long enough until he returned. Even when he was nearby, they were prone to bickering like children, especially the obviously spoiled Blackfire. As he wrapped himself in his thoughts, the time slowly ticked by, and the building he was watching eventually emptied itself of all its employees. The time to move was now. Slinking through the darkness, Red X scaled his way up the side of the building, until he reached a window on the third floor, which led to the room he had spent so much of his precious time tracking down. He cut his way through the glass, and slipped silently into the room, which was only illuminated by the lights still on outside in the adjoining hallway. He could scarcely see the lone occupant, but he knew that he was in the right place. The white, sterile walls, the banks of medical scanners, this hospital had to be the place. Red X walked over to the far wall, and switched on the lights, before moving to stand at the base of the room's lone bed. In the bright, white lights, it was only a few minutes until the previously sleeping patient blinked himself back into consciousness.

"Wh...what's going on? The patient slurred, still half asleep. "Who's there? Is something wrong?

"Do not worry, my friend. Nothing is wrong, and you are safe." Red X tried to reassure the confused patient. At first, he seemed to calm down a bit, but as his eyes slowed adjusted to the bright light, and his addled brain sorted out what was happening, his look quickly changed from one of confusion, to one of pure fright.

"Oh no…not you…anyone but you…please don't kill me!" The patient blubbered, struggling in vain to raise himself up out of his hospital bed. Red X stepped forward, and laid a hand on his shoulder to ensure that he didn't strain himself against all the tubes that were connected to his body.

"As I just told you, you are safe, and have nothing to fear from me. To be honest, I wouldn't be where I am right now, if not for your influence. What was once cloaked in darkness and shadow, you bathed in undeniable light. Thanks to you, I was finally able to see things as they truly were."

"What…are you talking about?" The patient stammered.

"Don't you understand? I owe everything to you." Red X said. "However, my purpose is not yet complete, and I need your help once again. The Teen Titans must be punished for their crimes against the people of Jump City, and who better to help me accomplish this than you…Dr Light.


End file.
